Return of the Millennium Sword
by Setoglomper
Summary: Sequel to Tom Riddle's Item. With the Millennium Sword, Voldemort's power was at an all time high. But what if there was someone far more dangerous than Voldemort ready to cause some chaos? Will the evil of the past conquer the present? SetoxHermione.
1. Chapter 1

Hey readers! Here's the long awaited sequel to _Tom Riddle's Item_! As always, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, or Harry Potter. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi and Jo Rowling.

Enjoy!!

/Blah/ Spirit to host/

**/Blah/ **Host to spirit

* * *

Chapter 1 

Soft rain continued to fall at the Hogsmeade Station as the Hogwarts Express departed. The end of Dumbledore's funeral brought dark clouds and other stormy weather. The centaurs had retreated back into the dark depths of the Dark Forest and the Merfolk were already deep within the waters of the Great Lake.

Harry was the last to enter the compartment in the last carriage and closed the door softly behind him. He sat beside Yugi Muto and looked at the rest of his friends. Yugi, Yami, Ryou, Bakura, Marik, Ron, Set, and Hermione all troubled by the death of the late headmaster. Without Dumbledore, the protective wards around Hogwarts had fallen, leaving a clear path for attack.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Ron, watching the rain fall from his seat at the window.

"…I'm not sure," admitted Harry, bowing his head, "but Dumbledore would have wanted it to be open."

Marik looked up from shuffling through his Duel Monsters cards, "Hey – what happened to Seto? Didn't he come in with us?"

"He needed some time to be alone…" Hermione answered quietly.

"I don't blame him," everyone looked at Yami as he spoke, "only two days ago he learned that his adoptive father was a Death Eater, _and_ is still on the loose. It is _not_ something one forgets easily."

For another few minutes, not one person in the compartment spoke, and then Hermione stood and began rummaging through her trunk. "I'm going to change," was all she said before leaving.

Again, silence filled the compartment once more until the door slid open about five minutes later, admitting Seto inside. Already out of his robes, he had changed into an all black suit, straightening his tie as he entered. His face was pale.

"Are you alright?" asked Ryou, noticing his pale complexion.

"Where were you?" asked Marik, noticing for the first time a new Prophet in his hands.

"Reading," he muttered, his fist tightening on the Prophet.

Hermione re-entered the compartment and sat next to Seto. She too had changed into a pure black suit and smoothened her skirt as she sat down. Hermione touched his arm and looked at the creased newspaper, "What's wrong?"

"Plenty." He handed over the Daily Prophet to her. Hermione smoothened the creases on her lap and then picked it up and began to read. Harry noticed her face begin to whiten after every passing moment.

"What's it say?" asked the former Pharaoh.

"Read it out, 'Mione."

"It's a bunch of things!" exclaimed Hermione, looking up from the moving pictures and text, "For one thing, attacks are more frequent, but there are no Dark Marks in the sky. The Ministry of Magic believes someone _other _than V-Voldemort is causing them. To make matters _worse_, Umbridge has escaped St. Mungo's and has disappeared."

"Great. She's on the loose. Just what I needed…" Harry muttered under his breath, but everyone heard him.

"…And, Seto, your hand is bleeding again," finished Hermione, scooting herself away from him on the seat as trickles of blood ran down his fingers.

In the past spring, Malfoy had attacked Hermione without warning and had tried to kill her for reasons unknown. Seto had intervened just in time, and started a large shouting match with the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. His row landed him in a month's worth of detentions with the infamous blood quill. However, unlike Harry's detentions in fifth year, for some reason, Umbridge cursed her quill. While Harry bears the same type of scars as Seto, his hand does not randomly open in blood every now and then.

Sighing, Seto pulled out his wand and conjured a fresh set of bandages, clearing the blood from his fingers and covering 'I will respect my teachers'.

As Hermione skimmed through the rest of the Prophet, Seto pulled out his laptop, but before he could get any work done, he was bombarded with an Instant Message from 'TheManGangsta'.

**TheManGangsta: Hey Rich-Boy!**

**CEO BEWD Master: …**

**TheManGangsta: We're here at the hotel.**

**CEO BEWD Master: …Who _is_ this?!**

**TheManGangsta: …the 'Rich-Boy' didn't give it away? CEO BEWD Master: …oh. You…What do you – how did you get this contact!? TheManGangsta: Mokuba CEO BEWD Master: I should have known…**

**TheManGangsta: We're all waiting at the hotel for Yug'. CYA Bossypants!**

_**(TheManGangsta has just signed off.)**_

"What do you think is going to happen now?" asked Ryou, "with Dumbledore gone and all?"

"Do you think Hogwarts will re-open?" asked Marik.

Harry shrugged, "there's a good chance it will close, with him and the wards gone, but there is also that small chance otherwise."

Hermione looked out the window, "I'll be right back," she said in a barely audible whisper, before exiting the compartment.

Ron watched her leave, "is she going to be alright? Hermione was like this yesterday too."

"Her parents' funeral is this afternoon," explained Seto.

"Oh."

Natasha Edwards then entered, wearing a green t-shirt and jeans. "Hey." She sat next to Ryou, who was watching Bakura and Marik play cards. "Where are you all going when we get to the station?" she asked, "I mean, since Hogwarts may not open again, do you think we'll ever meet up?"

"Once I'm of age, I can leave the Dursleys," said Harry, "but I don't know where I'll go."

"Yami and I are going back to Domino," said Yugi, also looking through his Duel Monster cards while Yami looked over his shoulder.

"I'm going back to Egypt with Ishizu. We'll probably see you sometime over the summer," said Marik.

"I should visit my father here in England. I haven't seen him in a while," Ryou didn't take his eyes off the game, " a few days, maybe two weeks, then its back to Japan."

"Who?" Bakura rounded on his light, "Who!?"

"My father, evil one. You have never met him."

"I'm going back home," said Ron, "but from then on, I have no idea."

"Hermione's coming back to Japan with me," said Seto, and then he looked at Harry, "You're welcome to stay for a while as well, Harry."

Harry smiled, "thanks, but I have some things to sort out here first. I'll think about it."

* * *

Hermione entered the compartment as the train pulled into Platform Nine and Three Quarters. As everyone got off the platform, Harry took one last look behind him. 

"Something wrong, Harry?" asked Ron.

"It's just that…this is where is all began," said Harry sadly, "I met you, here, on this platform. And now it's just about over."

The large group headed out of King's Cross, and into the parking lot. As a security precaution, Yugi and Ryou took their Millennium Items from their past selves, causing Yami and Bakura to disappear back into their items.

/Good thinking, Yugi. /

**/Well, it _would_ look pretty suspicious if there were two of us running around. /**

Ryou was thinking along the same lines.

**/It's so no one figures out there are two of me! One of me is bad enough/**

/Oh fiddlesticks! You don't know _anything_ about confusing people and corrupting their minds, do you, Wimpy/

**/No…and I'm glad…you can come back out once we're safely at home. /**

Yami Bakura pouted, but retreated back into the confinements of his soul room.

Leaving the station, Seto handed Hermione a pair of dark sunglasses.

"What are these for?" she asked, twiddling them between her fingers.

Seto sighed, "the idiotic fans, journalists, and other pests have been trying to keep tabs on me since term started in September. Put the glasses on, and they'll think you're a security guard. Otherwise the rumors will start. The last thing I need is the press having a field day with my personal life."

"Oh," Hermione quickly slipped the dark glasses to the bridge of her nose as they walked into the bright parking lot. The rain had stopped and the sky was beginning to clear.

* * *

Uncle Vernon waited impatiently in his car, every few minutes looking at his watch before going back to the open newspaper spread out on the steering wheel. Dudley was rather bored, having been just picked up from Smeltings. To occupy himself, he had resorted to hitting random things with his Smeltings' Stick, such as the seat, the dashboard, steering wheel, and Uncle Vernon. He was about to rap his Duel Monsters' deck box, when, looking out through the windshield, he saw Yugi Muto walking through the parking lot, alongside his freakish cousin. 

"DAD!!! DAD! Can I meet Yugi Muto please?"

"Eh?" grunted Vernon from behind the morning paper.

"Yugi Muto! The greatest Duel Monsters player ever!"

"Duel Monsters? Isn't that the new game Marge got you last Christmas?"

"YES!!!! Can I go meet him, Dad? Please, please, puh-lease!?"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever. And tell that boy (Harry) to hurry up! I'm not waiting for him all day!"

But Dudley was already halfway across the parking lot, his Smeltings Stick in one hand while shuffling through his cards, deciding which one to get autographed, while hitching up his pants from falling past his overlarge bottom.

Yugi was talking to Harry and Ryou when Dudley ran up to them.

"Yugi Muto!?"

Yugi whirled around, to see someone who resembled an overweight pig in a school uniform in front of him. "Err…yes?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

Yugi was mildly surprised. Not many people ask for an autograph, since he's usually always on the television dueling. "Oh…um…I suppose…" he gave Ryou a funny look, who smiled innocently, "I don't really give autographs." He took Dudley's card, _The Headless Knight_ and a pen, and scribbled his name upon the picture, "Here you go."

Dudley, full of glee, grabbed the card and ran back to the car. He stopped, midway, ran back, hitching up his trousers, and whacked Harry upon the head with the Smeltings Stick. "Come on, Potter! Dad's been waiting for _ages_!"

It was only then, when he had hit Harry upon his head, that he had noticed Seto Kaiba, for it was Dudley's ambition, to not only be a wrestler and beat the pulp out of smaller children, but to also meet all of his favorite celebrities, Yugi and Seto included.

Dudley brushed past Harry hard, almost knocking the wizard over as he ran to Seto, who was ready to get into his limo and drive off.

"Seto – Kaiba!" wheezed Dudley, having run about 50 feet, therefore winding himself, "Can I – have your – autograph! Please?"

Seto cocked his left eyebrow, as he gazed down at Harry's porky cousin. Dudley held out a _Lord of Dragons_. "Please?"

Sighing, Seto took the card and a pen from his inside pocket, and signed his name.

"Thanks!!!!!" Thoroughly pleased with himself, Dudley ran off, holding onto his pants as he went, pausing to rap Harry with his stick.

"Well, I've got to go," said Harry, "we'll meet up soon."

"HURRY UP BOY OR YOU CAN WALK BACK TO PRIVET DRIVE!!!"

Harry glanced at Uncle Vernon's purple face, "let's meet real soon!" Waving, he dragged his trunk toward his cousin and uncle.

A horn tooted from a car a few aisles away. Ryou turned to the others. "That's my father! See you in a few weeks, Marik!" Smiling, he headed to his father, embracing him in a large hug before departing.

"Marik!" Ishizu and Odion approached. "It's time to go, Brother. Are you ready?"

"Yep. Bye guys, Ron, Hermione. See you all soon!" He turned and left, Odion pushing his trolley.

The patter of feet upon pavement signaled more people were coming. It turned out to be Remus and Tonks.

"Hello Hermione, Seto," said Tonks, sporting neon green hair.

"Is something wrong, Tonks?" asked Hermione.

"No, no, we're the escort and guard at the procession. The Order believes that another attempt may occur to either get you to Voldemort's side or death, Hermione, which is why we'll be there, under Invisibility Cloaks, to make sure nothing happens."

"I understand," said Seto, "are you riding with us?" he gestured to the car, as the driver began loading the trunks and luggage into the trunk.

"Yes, and no," explained Remus, "we'll be following you to the drop-off point at the hotel, and then we'll ride with you to the hotel. There are some things we need to discuss, Seto, about your father."

Seto stiffened, "I see…"

* * *

While in the privacy of the limousine, Yugi took the Millennium Puzzle off, and placed it on the seat next to him. In a quick flash of golden light, Yami sat where the Millennium Puzzle had moments before, now wearing the Puzzle. 

After another few minutes, the car stopped at the entrance to a large and luxurious hotel. Yugi gaped at Seto, "Why are we here? Shouldn't we be going to the airport or something?"

"Someone is waiting for you inside, just beyond the lobby doors," Seto said calmly.

"Really?" Yugi peered through the tinted windows, trying to get a glimpse of the mystery person, "Who?"

"Oh, a puppy and two cheerleaders…"

"Joey, Tristan and Tea! Don't call Joey a puppy!!" Yugi scrambled out the door, but then stopped, "did you plan all this without me knowing?"

"Of course," he looked at his watch, "It's about eleven now. We'll be back around three-thirty to pick you up, go the airport, and head home. Everything to do in the hotel can be put on my bill. Just tell the people at the desk that I'm paying for it later. And try to keep the tab reasonable. No million dollar meals, please."

"Sure thing." Seto rolled the window back up as the car took off.

Yugi opened the hotel doors, and was immediately squashed into a bone-crushing hug by his friends.

"Yug'! It's great to see ya!"

"Good to see you too, Joey!"

"Hey, Yugi! Did you know that Kaiba is taking us back on his private jet!?"

"I had a feeling he would…"

"Say, Yugi," Tea began, taking side glances that no one besides the four could hear, "how's the Pharaoh?"

"You can ask him yourself, Tea!" Yugi placed the Puzzle on the table, and after the familiar flash, Yami was seated comfortably between Tea and Tristan.

"Hello."

Joey's eyes grew the size of grapefruits, "How –"

"Shadi," explained Yugi, "Bakura and Set have their own bodies as well, as long as Seto and Ryou aren't wearing the items."

"Set?" Tristan cocked his head, confused.

Yami looked at Yugi. /You didn't tell them/

/**He didn't want me to tell them he has a spirit…oopsie…come to think of it, where did he go after we left the train/**

/Seto took the rod back. /

"Who's Set?" repeated Tristan.

"You guys have to promise Kaiba to not bug him about it when you see him."

Tristan and Tea nodded, "We promise."

Yugi turned to his long-time friend, "Joey?"

"…Oh I guess…"

"Kaiba has a spirit too, his name is Set, from the Millennium Rod."

"WHAT!?"

"Shut up, Joey!"

"This new Kaiba isn't like Seto at all," Yugi explained to his friends, "He's much nicer."

"And he's my cousin," said Yami, "but besides, the Kaiba we know isn't the same anymore. He's changed. Well, mostly changed anyway."

"He's your cousin, Yug'?"

"Set is my cousin, not Kaiba," corrected Yami.

"Oh," Joey nodded as his stomach gave a loud growl, "Well, I'm hungry, let's get somethin' to eat!"

* * *

Remus and Tonks pulled off the Invisibility Cloaks as the limo turned onto the expressway. 

Seto leaned forward, "Now, tell me what you know about Gozaboro Kaiba..."

* * *

Well, there's the end of chapter 1! Chapter 2 will be up ASAP 

Setoglomper


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thanks for the six reviews for the first chapter. I think this story is going to be just as good as TRI. As always, I don't own YuGiOh, or Harry Potter. By now, though, you should know whom they do belong to (but if you _don't_, go back to chapter 1 and read the disclaimer)

As before…

/Blah/ Spirit to host

**/Blah/** Host to spirit

* * *

Chapter 2

Torches dimly lit lined the long corridor. One door stood in the flickering shadows against the light on the other side of the hall. A lone figure walked slowly toward the closed door, a hood concealing his fearful face.

The person had every right to be afraid, as he had defied his master, and the last to defy Lord Voldemort…

From an unseen place, a clock chimed midnight and the boy continued his pace, a bit quicker than before. He stopped upon reaching the brass knocker, and then hesitantly, rapped upon the wooden door.

There was no reply from the other side of the door, but that was common. The Dark Lord usually never responded to knocking doors. Slowly, he opened the door; it's hinges creaking with every inch.

He carefully approached the winged chair, sitting solo before a large fire. The chair faced away from the boy, yet he knew who sat in it.

"Come here, Draco," hissed the high, cold voice. Gulping, Draco Malfoy stepped toward the chair.

"Tell me, what had happened a few nights ago? You had told me your plan would work. Did it? Or did you fail to get away with your task like you had done twice before?" Draco said nothing, but Voldemort already knew. "You have failed to kill the Mudblood Hermione Granger like I had instructed – ah, it was yourself who told _me_ that she would be an _easy_ target to kill to gain admittance to the Death Eaters."

Malfoy still said nothing.

"All three of your attempts have been foiled, each one worse than the one before it. And your first attempt…the Hogwarts Entrance Hall, I ask you? Why such an _obvious_ place?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "and then you tried to take out another student in your way. I _had_ admired the attempt there as well, but it was poorly executed. A simple _Avada Kedavra _would have sufficed; he is, after all, Muggleborn.

"But, we move on, to two nights ago, where you had your victim, Miss Granger where you wanted her. Have you fulfilled your task and you wouldn't be standing here…instead of the direct kill, you resorted to _what, _Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco mumbled something under his breath. Voldemort plowed on, as if he didn't hear a thing.

"Torture, why? It was still a failure, and if Snape hadn't come along, you would have been in Azkaban right now…"

Malfoy looked at his feet, where Nagini was circling him.

"This is your last chance. I am giving you mercy one last time…"

Draco fell to his knees, "Thank you, Master! Thank –"

"Do not thank _me_. There is someone I wish for you to go with. He will help you carry out your murder. If you fail again…"

"No, my Lord, I will not," said Draco with confidence. He was ready for one last chance, as he had entered the room with the idea of being killed.

"You had _better _not. Now, someone is waiting for you in the main hall. Tall, glasses, in a dark blue _Muggle_ business suit. He will take you from here."

"Yes, Master. Thank you." Draco bowed and left the room. As he left, another entered.

Unlike the rest of the Death Eaters, this man wore no mask or robe. He himself was in a red pinstripe Muggle suit and tie, his gray hair slicked back neatly. He also did not bow before Voldemort, instead stood next to the chair in front of the fire without even addressing himself, a feat that would have gotten any other Death Eater instantly punished.

"Well?"

"The pieces have been found, except for the hilt. I've had Leichtor put the fragments together and there are no other parts missing."

"Good. The hilt is with me, kept safe. You never said why you needed _my_ Item."

"Premonitions, Lord," said the man, crossing his arms, "interesting dreams, and a feeling that part of oneself is missing, being somewhere else, is enough. Putting "It" back together will solve all of these mysteries."

"You _are _aware of the Item's power than, aren't you? It's strengths and weaknesses?"

"Of course."

"It's abilities…"

"Certaintly. The power of the Ancient Egyptians with Shadow Magic extends far to me, as I can somehow control parts of it. I believe that the Item is destined to _me_. It makes sense, in the end as well."

"How do you figure?" Voldemort gazed deeply into the flames.

"My stepson in the present, my son in the past. The past self would show a match in personality. Besides, it would help bring the weapons of the old war into this one. The Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry would not be able to stand up to it, not again with even _more_ power."

"And you believe, by taking_ my_ Item, you could do all of this?"

"There are so many things the Item can do, you are not destined to do them, Lord."

"And _why_ is that?"

"Well, if you _were_ destined, you would have done these things already. And another, my family tree that Nesbitt researched for me shows I relate back to the times of the Priest Aknadin, of the _Nameless Pharaoh's _court."

Voldemort stiffened, "I see…" He waved his wand, and a long, thin box came zooming across the room toward him. Grasping it, Voldemort opened it, revealing its content, gleaming hilt of a broken sword.

"Magnificent, yes?" Voldemort looked upon the fragment, "destroyed by my defeat in a duel. How was I to know that my defeat would have triggered a chain reaction?"

"Actually," the man smirked, "it had said so on "_RuleTheWorld" _(if you remember from _Tom Riddle's Item_, it was the website that Voldemort visited to gain information on the Millennium Items). Said so, in plain text, to not let the sword fall into the hands of good."

"…How was I to know my own soul was almost ripped from my reborn body? Without using a last-minute Portkey, I would have _died_! Well, _almost_ dead."

The man paid no attention to the last part of Voldemort's speech. He merely gazed upon the sword, "this _can_ be mended, you are aware…"

"Yes," Voldemort snapped the box shut, and with the wave of his wand, it disappeared, "I'm not sure I can trust you, however. How do I know that you won't use this against me?"

"How do I know you won't steal the fragments from their location and piece the Item back together yourself?"

"You will have to trust me."

"I don't trust _anyone_, Lord. Not even you."

"If you were any other Death Eater, I would have killed you where you stand!" Voldemort glared upon the other figure.

"Yes, but you _won't._ You _need_ me to win this war, Voldemort. Just like the last time. There would be more than triple the Aurors in the Ministry than there are now if I haven't provided you with the magic-proof weapons my corporation produced."

"Yes, there's the slight setback," Voldemort sneered, "Your corporation fell years ago, and the weapons were destroyed."

"Regaining control there will be...somewhat difficult, I don't deny it. However, it will not be impossible. You can have your weapons…"

"I knew –"

"But, you don't get a single tank unless I get that fragment!"

"When can you get those weapons available?"

"A few months, maybe more. But if I am going to supply for you, then you must hold your end as well. Agreed?"

Voldemort eyed the man carefully, "I suppose this can work. Supply my weapons, and I will give you my treasure."

"Good, good." The man was clearly pleased, "Where is the Malfoy boy?"

"I sent him to your associate, Johnson, is it? They might have already left. You never truly told me _why_ you need the boy, you realize?"

"Oh, I never reveal my secrets until it is absolutely necessary."

Voldemort returned his gaze to the flames, the light dancing around the room, "It _will_ help the boy complete his pitiful assignment, yes? That is why I gave him to you."

"Yes, it should. Now, what is the name of the girl he is after? I want Gansley to look her up."

"Hermione Granger. She's close to Potter."

"Potter – ah, yes, _Harry_ Potter. Of course, we all know who _he_ is."

Voldemort muttered something inaudible.

The man went on, "This girl is vital to Malfoy's mission, and my own goals as well. If you happen to…_find_ her, try not to go curse-happy. It is essential she is…_alive_."

Voldemort cringed, "you accuse me of overusing spells on my victims?"

The man grinned, "Possibly."

"If you were –"

" 'Any other Death Eater, I'd be dead'. I know. Lord. However, I'm _not_ any other Death Eater, and without me…well, I'll leave it at that. Good day to you." The man turned and headed toward the door.

"Ah, wait one moment. How did Dolores handle the Enhanced Blood Quill you had given her?"

"It worked fine. According to Dolores, the wounds don't heal. And they won't. Ever."

"I see."

"Well, I will report back when I have progress." The man left.

Voldemort turned his attention back to the fire, "Yes, good day to you too, _Gozaboro Kaiba_."

* * *

Well, that's all!

The review button is lonely!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I'm glad this story has such positive feedback! As for your review, Dark Magician Grrl, that is for me to know and for you to find out!

As always, I don't own YuGiOh or Harry Potter, as you should know by now who does (but if you _don't_ go back to Chapter 1 and read the disclaimer). I also don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters, as that also belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

On another note, I highly recommend watching the _YuGiOh Abridged Series_ on YouTube, posted by LittleKuriboh. The first episode and a few others had been removed, but were reposted by other users on the site. It is the most hilarious YuGiOh spoof you will ever see. Ever.

/Blah/ Spirit to host

**/Blah/ **Host to spirit

* * *

Chapter 3

Remus wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, sighing, "Well, from what we know from agents in Voldemort's Inner Circle, it was Gozaboro's Blood Quill that leaves it's marks upon you. We found Umbridge's quill at the bottom of the lake around the school yesterday. The last time that quill was used was when Harry had his last detention with Professor Umbridge last year."

"Anything else?"

"Voldemort's angry with Snape for interfering with Malfoy's mission," said Tonks, "he's also mad at Malfoy for not completing his job. He was supposed to get rid of a Muggleborn, in order to prove himself to the Death Eaters; you know, since he's only seventeen. However, he was _also_ given the task of slaying Dumbledore, which he also couldn't do. He broke down at the end, and Snape had to do it. They were on their way out of the castle when they caught up with you, and…well…you know what happened from then. How are you feeling, though? Usually, Madame Pomfrey keeps her patients in the Ward for weeks after what Snape pulled on you."

"Two potions a day, one morning, the other evening, but otherwise, I'll be fine," said Seto, shifting in his seat.

"What's the Ministry doing with all of this?" asked Hermione.

"Well," Tonks began, "after Malfoy's first assault, Dumbledore had informed the Ministry of what had happened. The Minister knows you are the best pupils in the year, and would be great assets on Voldemort's side –"

" –Like we would in the first place!"

"Still, the Ministry has assigned a non-stop guard around your home in Japan, Seto, and we talked to Professor Flitwick and he agreed to make the house Unplottable, or he advises the use of a Secret Keeper."

"A what?"

"A Secret Keeper is someone who knows the exact address of your home. Even if Voldemort was standing at your front gates, he wouldn't be able to know where the house is, unless the Secret Keeper tells someone."

"Is there anything there now?" asked Seto, concerned for his brother. After all, when most people were after him, the "attacker" usually went for Mokuba as bait, a main factor for the growing number of "Mokie-kidnappings" in the past two years.

"Now, Alastor Moody and Morag Ducan, another Auror are at your place of residence. From Duncan's last report, they were all…playing video games, and Moody was winning."

The car slowed to a halt in front of a stone building with the sign "Morg's Funeral Home" on the corner by the road.

"You _are_ coming in with us, aren't you?" asked Hermione, as they stepped out into the parking lot. Remus and Tonks pulled on their invisibility cloaks.

"Just in case…"

After muttering something to the driver, Seto headed up to the doors with Hermione, checking his suit pocket to make sure his wand was there…. just in case.

* * *

**(A/N: I don't write funerals…I skipped the service so you all don't cry onto your computers)**3 Hours later 

Each member of the family had come up to Hermione to wish her their condolences at least three times. The bodies of her parents were already lowered into the ground. Many family friends had already left and the rest of the mourning party that were still there was talking in hushed groups. A part of Hermione wanted them to leave soon. During the eulogy, Remus had come up to her, invisible, and whispered something into her ear, but over the speaker, wasn't able to hear properly. Now she needed to know what was wrong.

Finally, the last member left, leaving the four in the empty graveyard.

Cautiously, the two removed their invisibility cloaks.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"The Aurors were alerted that you wanted to visit your home before going to the airport. We sent a guard to make sure when you see the house, nothing happens.

"While the procession was going on, Arthur Weasley, while Invisible, saw three men go into the house. Currently there are Ministry officials checking for unregistered Portkeys and anything that could lead you into any danger. The last thing we need is one, or both of you forced to be on the other side."

"Can we go back?" asked Hermione, "I need to collect some things before I go."

"We can check there," said Remus, "I'm not sure of the Department for Magical Detection will have found anything or not."

**

* * *

(A/N: There's a gory image ahead, I'll warn you as you read closer)**

It was about a half-hour later when they had arrived. Mr. Weasley greeted them.

"The detection group has been in for hours, already. They should have found something by now."

"It is safe to go in, isn't it?" Hermione glanced at her home. On the outside, and to any of the neighbors, it seemed nothing had gone wrong. However, as she walked inside, a war zone had occurred. Wizards were still inside, waving devices over random objects all over the walls and on the floor.

Photos were smashed on the floor. Mirrors lying crushed under overturned furniture. Several objects on the shelf above the fireplace were broken and littered along the floor. Hermione paused and reached to pick up an intact photo when a Ministry official snatched it.

"Hey!"

"We aren't done checking the place. Please wait outside," said the wizard.

Hermione glared at him, "Excuse _me_! This is _my_ home, I would like to think that I can at least walk around – and I'll take _that_ back, thank you!" Fuming, she stepped over a pile of smashed glass and continued into the kitchen, when she suddenly stopped and put her hand to her mouth to stop a scream.

"Seto!" she called. Coming from the dining room, he too widened his eyes at the sight. It was so far, the most torn-apart room in the entire place. Blood was stained on the floor and the walls. The shape of a body, outlined in blood, was on the one wall. Another outline was on the floor, by an array of smashed china. The patio glass doors were smashed.  
Tears swelled in her eyes as Seto put his arms around her.

"They – they tortured them…" Hermione choked out, her voice squeakier and higher pitched than normal, "they tortured Mum and Dad and then killed them…"

She looked down at the dusty frame in her hands, "this was my parents…three days before…they…" she couldn't bring herself to finish the thought, as she peered at her parent's smiling faces, unknowing their lives would be cut short mere days later.

"Hermione!" called Remus from upstairs, "can you come up here? There's something you need to see!"

"I don't think I want to know, but…" shaking, she and Seto made their way through the downstairs, sidestepping broken objects and furniture to reach the stairs.

"Careful," said Tonks from the top of the flight, "the stairs aren't very stable!"

As Hermione's high-heeled sandal made contact with the bottom stair, there was a loud crack from the wooden steps. Quickly, she stepped off as the bottom three steps collapsed.

"Careful," warned Mr. Weasley, "Apparently something heave was thrown down the steps, because there was a lot of rubble at the base. We had only cleaned it away when you had arrived. It seemed to be the remains of a grandfather clock."

"Oh…"

Mr. Weasley aimed his wand at the stair remains, and they transfigured into a ramp, sturdy enough for an elephant to walk safely without fear of collapse. "That should do it."

On the second floor, Hermione went to head toward her bedroom, but Remus stopped her.

"The detectors are in there now, but what I want to show you is here. This may come as a bit of a fright to you, just a warning." They stopped at a closed door. This part of the hall had a sickening smell, which made Hermione look up at Tonks and Remus in terror, "There's not a…"

"Yes, there is," stated Remus gravely. He slowly pushed open the door, letting the horrid smell escape throughout the house.

The room, from the looks it was a guest bedroom, was in complete shambles. The windows were cracked, the bedside table splintered and overturned. However, the smell drifted through the bedroom from the door leading to the adjoining bathroom. Remus stood in the doorway to the bathroom and beckoned her inside.

Steering through the broken pieces of furniture and glass, Hermione slowly made her way across the room, shaking. _What…or who could be in there…?_

The smell was strongest here. The shower curtain was pushed back at an odd angle, as if something was holding it in place. Hermione took one look into the tub, was able to hold in most of a scream, and backed herself into the sink cabinet, knocking over a glass toothbrush holder, sending glass everywhere. Seto, Tonks and Mr. Weasley rushed into the room. Seto stopped short at the sight before him.

**(A/N: If you can't read or visualize the 'sight' of blood and things like that, skip to the next authors note. Be advised, I am no horror writer, and it probably isn't as bad as I actually wanted it to be…or could make it…my writing skills aren't **_**that**_** grand)**

Inside the tub was a body. It must have been dead for some time, for it smelled horrible and was decomposing. The skull was crushed in several places and a bloody hammer was lying at the toilet. Blood was stained throughout the entire tub and curtain, as well as some of the walls. One of the body's arms was bent at a very odd angle and parts of the skeleton were showing through decomposition.

"Who…who is that?" Hermione asked, shaking.

Remus pointed to the dead man's (yes, it was a guy) arm. Although some of the skin was eaten away, a faint outline of a snake protruding from a skull was visible on the amount of skin that was left.

**(A/N: Okay then, if you skipped the last part I think it's ok to read on now…if you had skipped, basically there's a dead guy in the bathroom and Remus is explaining who he is.)**

"A Death Eater. Who specifically, we don't know yet. Some of the investigating Aurors believe he and others came the day your parents died when they found either your mother or father in here. Fighting back in self-defense, he or she hit this man and ran downstairs to find either your mother or father, depending who it was. It was then where the Death Eaters in the kitchen attacked both of your parents."

"Why wasn't he found earlier?"

"This door was sealed shut. We don't know why."

Still shaking, Hermione turned to the doorway back into the bedroom, "I'm going to my room…to get some stuff…"

"What happened to those people who were here earlier?" asked Seto as he and the others left the room. Ministry officials were swarmed in the guest room, looking at the body.

"Supposedly – from these detection folk, suspicious people came in, but not out. Either they were wizards and apparated, went out the broken back door, or are still here," said Tonks.

"I'd rather the first two. I don't feel like dealing with anyone today," sighed Remus.

"You know, Remus, this place is like a haunted house," said Tonks, "with suspicious people everywhere, murders and dead bodies…reminds me of the place my dad took me when I was ten…"

Though they were far enough from the guest room that the putrid smell would have diminished, it didn't. It gave Mr. Weasley the feeling there was more to this murder than meets the eye.

* * *

Two hours later, after Hermione rummaged through her room (which oddly enough was the only room in the house without broken trinkets and overturned furniture) and had packed a few items, they were back at the hotel to pick up Yugi and his friends.

"Hey, Kaiba! What took yeh so long?" asked Joey, as he got into the car, "we were waitin' for hours!"

Tristan clobbered him with his fist, "More like ten minutes, moron."

"So, Rich Boy, where are we stoppin' to eat before we head back?"

Seto blinked, "You were in an expensive hotel with an _all you can eat buffet_ and you didn't anything at all? What did you do all day!?"

"Well…"

"Joey, you just had two whole pizzas two hours ago!" exclaimed Yugi, "how can you be hungry now?"

"I'm always hungry!"

Within a half hour, they had arrived at the airport.

"Kaiba, don't we need our tickets to get on the plane?" asked Tea, looking at the departures. There were no flights bound for Japan.

"No. I have a private jet."

"Honestly, Tea, this is Kaiba!" laughed Joey, "you didn't think he would have his own plane?"

"Shut up, Joey."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Eat something on the plane, then. I'm not spending any more money on you…wait a minute. How much did you spend today?"

Joey thought for a moment, "Well, there were the five pizzas, the ice cream shop, the mall, the all-you-can-eat-buffet…about 700 bucks!"

Seto's eye twitched, "remind me never to loan you money again…"

* * *

They were flying near a small island in the middle of nowhere when the plane began to shake.

"Hey!" Tristan pouted, "you screwed up my photo!"

"We're experiencing minor engine trouble," the pilot announced, "Please keep your seatbelts fastened and don't panic!"

Then the engine died completely, reminding Hermione about what happened to the Ford Anglia. She wasn't with Harry and Ron when they flew to Hogwarts in their second year, but they first encountered engine trouble and then it had died.

The plane plummeted toward the island below, the pilot trying to fix the problem. The plane first his the coastal waters, then came to a complete stop on the shore. The back end was in the water, and the plane was sinking – very, very slowly.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Yugi, getting up from his seat. He and everyone else seemed to be all right, except –

"The pilot's dead," said Seto gravely, as he had gone to see if he was okay.

"How are we going to call for help?" asked Tea, "I don't think cell phones even work all the way out here…besides, mine broke in the crash."

"Well, you can fly a plane, Kaiba, can't you do something?" asked Tristan. He was thinking back to the times he had seen Kaiba fly off in his Blue Eyes jet.

"The system is shot. Hopefully, not everything was destroyed in the crash."

He headed toward the compartment above his seat and pulled out his laptop case.

The computer seemed to be intact.

"You take your computer with you everywhere, Rich Boy?"

"No…this is a backup…incase of emergencies, and I think this counts as one."

"Oh."

Seto pushed the power button. Nothing happened. It was dead.

"Great. Just…great…"

"Can this get any worse?" asked Joey, "I'm hungry _and_ we're lost!"

* * *

That's all! Leave your reviews, questions, and complains with the purple button below! 


	4. Chapter 4

Here's chapter…4! For some funny reason, every time I went to make a draft of this chapter, I always labeled it as chapter 3. I'm such a dipwad…

Anyway, I don't own YuGiOh, or Harry Potter. By now, you should know who they do belong to, but if you don't, see the previous disclaimers in the other previous chapters.

By the way, if you have seen the movie Capsule Monsters, you would know that Yugi and his buddies enter the game to find Grandpa. In this story, Capsule Monsters does occur, but Grandpa Muto isn't there.

**/Blah/ **Host to spirit

/Blah/ Spirit to host

* * *

Chapter _**4**_ (Got it right this time!)

"What _now_?" asked Tristan. The sun was starting to set, and already there was no sign of being able to call for help.

Hermione looked desperately around; at the cockpit (shuddering upon looking at the pilot), the broken laptop, and Tea's broken cell phone, when something clicked.

"Wait! We _can_ send a message! All we have to – did you hear something?"

Yugi looked at Joey, who looked at Tea, who shrugged, "No," said Tea.

"I thought I heard – " she stopped again for all of them to hear a loud creaking noise. "What was that!?"

"I'm not sure," said Joey, "but I don't want to find out, either."

"Guys! Look!" Tea pointed to the floor. Part of the cockpit windshield was lying on the ground, but sliding toward the back of the plane. Water began streaming in from a small hole in the wall.

"We must have crashed into the water!" cried Yugi. He moved carefully toward the door and pulled the latch, "it won't budge!"

"You're kiddin' me, Yug'!" Joey pounded on the door, trying to get it to open, yet it remained shut, "We're gonna end up with the fish by mornin'!"

"Hang on! There is a way! Joey, get away from the door!" shouted Yugi. The stream of water coming in was getting larger as the plane slowly sank into the water. He pulled his wand out of his pocket, and was relieved it wasn't broken. Aiming it at the door, he shouted, "_Reducto!_"

The door was blasted off the plane, along with a chunk of the wall. Seto peered out of the frame, "we're on the edge of a beach. If we jump now, we can make it."

The plane tilted another few feet. Joey and Tristan grabbed their backpacks and bolted from the wreck. The others followed suit, as the plane fell into the water.

"Aww, man! I lost all my stuff!" whined Joey, as he sat on his backpack on the beach.

"Tea?" asked Hermione, "can I see your phone?"

Tea blinked, "it's broken, but alright. What are you going to do?" They all gathered around as Hermione pulled out her wand from her pocket and gave the device a small prod.

"It should work now."

Tea pushed the power button. To her amazement, the phone turned on.

Joey eyed the wand greedily, "Woa! Where can I get one of those!?"

Hermione laughed, "You can't, you're not a wizard. But now that the phone works, we can call for help!"

"My parents are on vacation…" said Tea, "who should I call?"

"Don't try my dad! He's probably passed out on the couch with a bag of potato chips and empty beer cans with the TV still on…"

"Joey, not even for a _minute _were we considering him…"

"I'll call." Tea handed Seto her phone.

Within two minutes, it was back in her hand. Tea gaped at it, "who did you –?

"There'll be someone here in a couple of hours," was all he said.

"Well, I don't feel like sittin' here waiting to be rescued. Let's go check this place out!"

"I'm with you, Joey!" said Tristan. He and Joey ran off into the trees.

"Wait!" Yugi called after them, "we don't know anything about this place!

Tea laughed, "Has being totally clueless ever stopped _them_ before?"

Seto shook his head, muttering, "Idiots."

* * *

They later caught up with Joey and Tristan as they continued through the woods.

"So does anyone else think that wandering through an unknown area that probably has vicious animals is a bad idea?" Hermione said, nervously.

Joey turned and smirked, "Nah! They're more scared of us than we are of them!"

Yugi gave a surprised yelp and stopped dead in his tracks. It took them another ten minutes to get Joey down from the nearest tree.

"Is it an animal!?" Joey called from the branch 50 feet in the air.

"No!" cried Yugi, "it's a person!"

In the clearing ahead of them was a man lying on the ground. He looked a bit like Draco Malfoy with his blond hair, but it was much too wavy to be him.

Tea took her water bottle from her bag and gave it to the stranger. He downed it all in one gulp.

"Are you feeling alright now?" asked Tea, putting the bottle away.

"Much better, in fact. It's quite good you all came along! My name is Doctor Alex Brisbane, and I'm an archaeologist. I was studying something fascinating when I heard a plane nearby crash. I must have been more dehydrated than I thought, because I seem to have collapsed…but then you found me. Are you all all right? I hope you're not injured."

"Dandy," said Joey, "so Doc, what were you workin' on?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," laughed Alex.

"From all of the things _we've_ been through, it's probably believable!" Tristan said.

"Well, alright. I think I stumbled on the Lost Pyramid of Alexander! I'll show you." He led them through the forest to a vast clearing, where a large pyramid stood.

"Aren't pyramids usually in Egypt?" Tristan scratched his head.

"Well, Alexander the Great ruled many empires, even Egypt. It is fitting he have a pyramid, but it is so mysterious for it to be here."

"I wonder if someone else found the pyramid and stole the treasure?"

"Why, Wheeler? Do you want to sell something on EBay (which I don't own!!!) and earn more money than me?"

"Very funny, Rich Boy…very funny…"

"Actually, I never found any treasure," said Alex, "I went through with a colleague of mine, but he disappeared while we were both inside!"

"Who was with you?" asked Yugi, "maybe we can help you find him!"

Alex paused for a moment, as if he forgot what he was going to say, but then smiled, "thanks very much! If you can find him for me, I will reward you greatly!"

'Well, what are we waiting for! Let's find him!" Joey ran up to the Pyramid entrance and stopped, waiting for Alex to lead the way.

* * *

Once inside, Alex held up a lantern. "There's no light except for this farther in, watch your step…and beware of traps!"

At that moment the stone Yugi had stepped on sank a few inches into the floor. Spikes came through the floor tile.

"GAHH!"

"I told you, there are dangerous traps at every turn!"

Alex stopped them at the base of the stairs leading up. "Careful," he said, standing upon the slim moldings next to the stairs, "if you touch the stairs, they'll collapse!" He slowly inched his way up the side, Hermione right behind him. It seemed like forever had gone by before they reached the top.

The path ahead of them broke into two directions, one direction with stairs going up, and the other going down.

"My colleague and I split up from here. I went up," explained Dr. Brisbane, "I had come to a locked door and couldn't continue. When I went back to the lower level, my friend was nowhere to be found!"

"Well, then…let's go down there and find this guy!" Joey ran forward and down the stairs. Seeing as Joey's word was final, Yugi and the others ran after him.

"Wait, Joey! You might trigger another trap!"

"Wow!" shouted Joey, "Hey, Doc! You forgot to mention there's a room the size of Kaiba's ego down here!" Joey's remark earned him a knock on the head by Seto's fist, "…owww."

The center of the room held a giant map, spread all over the floor. Each tile held a piece of a different land type.

"…Anyway, according to legend, this room is supposed to hold an ancient game," explained Alex, ignoring Joey's comment.

"Well, let's get going, then!" Joey ran forward and stepped onto a mountain square. In a flash of golden light, he was gone.

"Joey!" Yugi, Tristan and Tea ran to the spot Joey had vanished from, but didn't stand on the map.

"Where'd he go?" asked Tea.

"It seems he went…into the floor. He stepped on a mountain!"

Tristan pointed to the far side of the room, "there's a desert all the way down there!"

Hermione stood on the edge of the board, "and here's a forest!"

**/A board with different land types…where have I seen this before?/**

/Duel Monsters maybe? The duel arenas that were at Duelist Kingdom, had similar land types like these./

"Well, now we have to go in to find Joey and your colleague," Yugi told Alex.

"You can't b e serious! You're going to go into the game as well?"

"I have to!"

"No, Yugi!" Tea said, "_We_ have to!"

"Yea!" Tristan smirked, "you go on a saving the world rampage, like, every week. At least let us go with you…not like we're giving you much of a choice."

Tea and Tristan both grabbed each of Yugi's arms and jumped onto a forest square. In another flash of golden light, they were gone.

Alex Brisbane turned to Seto and Hermione, standing near a beach tile and a forest clearing. "Are you going in too?" he asked, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice. _Why is he so bent on us entering this thing?_ Seto said to himself, _if this person is so important to him, why doesn't he go into the game instead of us, or even with us?_

"I don't think there's a reason not to go," Hermione said, with a bit of uncertainty, "I mean, what if the others need our help?"

"Might as well. Its not like there is anything else to do here…"

Taking one last, quick glance at Brisbane, Seto and Hermione stepped upon the map.

* * *

Yugi, Tea, and Tristan landed in the middle of a forest path.

Tea was rubbing her arm where she had landed on it, when she noticed some golden "shooter" (If you watched Capsule Monsters, then _you _try describing it better! HA!) attached to her arm.

"Hey! Where'd this thing come from?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Tristan, "I've got one too! Whoa! Check out these freaky belts!" A silver belt was around his waist, with six compartments, meant for holding something cylindrical, "What do you supposed they're used for?"

Yugi looked down at his own belt, "I guess we'll find out."

* * *

"What _are_ these things?" asked Hermione, looking at the gold object strapped to her arm. They were at a clearing of trees, near a small path and pond.

"I'm not too sure," said Seto, "they're here for a reason…it probably has to do with all of these rocks with the Eye of Horus on them." He pointed toward a nearby path, near a group of trees. All along the way, every few feet, there was an identical rock.

"They must be pretty important to have _all _of these here. There must be hundreds!"

A low growl emitted then from a nearby bush.

"What was that?" Hermione jumped.

"What was what? I didn't hear –" Seto seized her upper arm and yanked her away from the bush just in time. A large insect with saw-like blades on its front legs had swiped at the very spot she had been standing moments before.

"What is that!?" she gasped out, staring at the immense bug. It got ready for another swing…

"Who cares _what _it is!" Ducking under a low tree branch, they dashed along the path, the insect (In the YuGiOh TCG, I THINK the monster is called a Basic Insect) close behind them.

* * *

"Hey! These things are all over the place!" Yugi crouched down next to one of the mysterious rocks. He reached out a hand to touch one.

"Hey! Did you guys hear something?" Tristan put his ear to the ground, "it seems to be coming closer…whatever it is."

"It's probably nothing, Tristan," said Tea, looking around, "I don't see or hear anything!"

Within ten seconds of her remark, three large bouncing insects (I forgot their name in the TCG, some type of roach) blocked their path and were coming closer.

"Well, it's definitely not _nothing_!" Yugi said terrified. They turned to run in the other direction, but found it blocked by another Basic Insect.

"Ehh…nice mantis?"

The Insect made a swipe with one of its razor sharp legs. Tristan grabbed Tea's arm and pulled her in one direction, Yugi going in the complete opposite. The mantis followed Yugi and the three roaches went after his two friends.

"TEA! TRISTAN!" Yugi shouted, as he saw them through the trees and out of sight. Worried, Yugi remembered he had problems of his own, and picked up speed as the mantis gained on him…

* * *

"TEA! TRISTAN!"

Joey was atop a large cliff. "Hey! That sounds like Yugi!"

He tried peering through the valley and forests below him, trying to find his friend, when from behind, a large bird (I think it's Birdface (or a name really similar to that), and incase you're wondering, I do play the TCG…) advanced on him.

"YUUUUUUUUGI! Are you out there, pal? YUUUGI!"

* * *

Well, that's all for now. The purple button below likes being pushed by readers like you! Your comments and suggestions aren't tossed aside, and I do listen to them! 


	5. Chapter 5

I guess I haven't updated in a while. Oops.

Now that school is out, I'll try to work on this as much as possible. Now, someone emailed me this concern about the whole Capsule Monsters world, and I'll answer it.

There is indeed a reason why Capsule Monsters is in this story. You will have to read and find out what that reason is.

At the end of the Capsule Monsters chapters, I'll keep a log handy to keep track of which character has which monsters. If you've never seen the Capsule Monsters movie, and are extremely confused, forget what I just said.

Like always I don't own YuGiOh or Harry Potter. The respective owners are in the first chapter disclaimer.

/Blah/ Spirit to host

**/Blah/ **Host to spirit

* * *

Chapter 5

Alex Brisbane left the pyramid and strode out to the very spot the plane had crashed. He peered around bushes carefully, to make sure there was no one hiding. Finally, coming to the conclusion he was the only one in the vicinity, he sat upon a large boulder, and began subconsciously rubbing his left forearm.

Just then, a small squeak alerted his attention. Alex Brisbane looked about, left and right, but there was no one there. Thinking logically, the only other place the noise could have emitted was below. Sitting next to the boulder was a cat; a medium size black furry feline with big green eyes (and yes, this cat has surfaced in _Tom Riddle's Item_ and will continue to do so).

Chuckling, Brisbane leapt off the rock and stood next to the cat. A moment later, a tall, man, ageing in years stood where the cat had vanished. He wore a dark red suit with a gray tie. His graying hair was slicked back and he had a medium size mustache, equally gray. The man grinned at the wreckage.

"How did it go, Brisbane?"

"Excellent, sir. He entered the world just as you said he would. He was accompanied by three other boys – one of which with a ridiculous hairdo and extremely short – and two girls. Both he and one of the girls in funeral attire."

"Good, good." The man pulled out a cigar and lit it, "Did you mention the 'missing character' to get them inside?"

"Yes," said Brisbane, "But I'm not so sure the boy believed my story, as he and his girl entered last. The short one and his friends were the first to enter."

"I see. It makes no difference. Seto and his friends will never make it out alive anyways."

"Mr. Kaiba, are you positive?"

"Only one other person in history has made it to this pyramid, and he never came out. You do remember the downfall of the Alexander the Great?"

"Of course, but…"

"Is the pilot alive?" asked the man, as he smoked his cigar, ignoring Alex's protest.

"Only the teenagers left the plane. I believe the pilot is dead."

"He served his purpose. Now, _if_ the brats get out, which I highly doubt, make sure you get to the contents in that secret room first. If it can at all help me in my conquest, you will be highly rewarded. You may use any means necessary to get to that room – except murder."

"I see. Thank you, Mr. Kaiba."

With that, Gozaboro stamped on his cigar and disaparated.

* * *

The bird that had been flying around behind Joey almost crashed into nearby brush as Joey called Yugi's name. His voice echoed throughout the valley and forest below. After regaining control of itself, the bird (I call it Birdface, since it looks like that in the TCG) grabbed Joey in its talons and flew off.

"Hey! You put me down, you oversized turkey! Just you wait till I get through wit' you! You'll be sorry you messed wit' Joey Wheeler!"

The bird paid him no mind, as he flew Joey toward the other side of a cliff.

"Yo Chicken! Put me –" it was then, that Joey realized that if the bird dropped him, there was a long way down… "Wait! Whateva' ya do, do not put me…"

Just then, Birdface opened its talons, releasing Joey. He plummeted down onto a thick branch.

Rubbing his sore spot, Joey began swearing as the bird flew about above him. There was a soft chirp from behind, and the teen slowly turned. Four small chicks were looking expectantly at him.

"Ehh…hey there little fella!" Joey said to the nearest one. He began to hold out his hand to stroke the bird – that is, until he was bitten.

"YOWCH!!" Joey jumped backwards, but then tumbled off the branch. "GAHH!!" he then fell onto another branch, where there were even more of the same birds, all of them babies.

"Smell ya later! Heh, heh! I wonder what'll be next cliff? Probably some more baby birds looking for some dinner…"

He peered down, "Nyeh!! There is no next! Oh noooo!" He managed to break his fall by grabbing a heavy, but thin branch coming from the side of the cliff wall. Pausing for a minute to catch his breath, Joey noticed something he hadn't seen before. Perched where the branch meets the cliff was an odd shaped rock. The emblem on Yugi's Millennium Puzzle was in the center of the stone. It wobbled over, and then rolled down the branch, and straight into Joey.

The impact caused him to loose his balance. Hugging the stone for dear life, Joey fell rapidly toward the ground below. During the fall, the stone began to crack in a bright white light.

"No way!" he exclaimed, as he suddenly found his way atop one of his Duel Monster cards – Baby Dragon.

* * *

Yugi ran as fast as his small legs could carry him, but it was no use. The Basic Insect was much too fast for him. It was quickly gaining speed, and after another minute or so, it would be able to reach him with one of its sharp bladed arms.

**/Yami! I may need some help here! There's no place left to run to!/**

/Hope is not lost yet, Yugi! Look, there, to your right! There seems to be a body of water separating the two paths. If you jump in, I doubt the monster will follow you!/

**/Well, here goes nothing, then!/ **Without a glance back, at the nearest clearing of brush, Yugi dived into the lake. At the same moment, the insect made a swipe. Had Yugi hesitated, he would probably be in extreme pain, not to mention, 30 pieces.

/See, Yugi? We're safe now./

**/I guess so, Yami, but what about when we leave the water?/**

/Yugi, you know, you could give me my body back…/

/Oh yea, I guess I could. Well, when we return to Domino, the Puzzle will be yours again. I feel more secure when you're with me, right now./

/Not a problem, Yugi. We should probably figure a way to find our friends, before it's too late./

**/Good idea, Pharaoh. But where do we start?/ **Yugi swam a little ways from the very edge of the water, so the beast wouldn't be able to reach him.

Yami looked around, then widened his eyes. /Isn't that Kaiba over there?/

**/Where? I don't see Seto anywhere!/**

/Over there./ Yami phased out of the puzzle and pointed over the water. On the other side of the bank was another large insect, on Seto's tail. Hermione was running beside him.

"Kaiba!" Yami yelled, taking over Yugi, "In here! The bugs won't go in the water!"

Yami swam out to meet Seto and Hermione as they too dived into the lake. He watched as the chasing insect went into the high brush and out of sight.

"Are you two alright?" asked Yami, meeting them at the other side.

"Fine," said Seto, as they climbed out of the water. Hermione sat upon a rock and began twisting her long hair, to wring out the water, and then dumped the water from her heeled shoes. Seto took his and Hermione's suit coats and shook them out in the sun. Yugi shook his head like a dog, the water flying from his hair landing all around him.

"Yugi! Now we're all wet again!"

"Hey, what's that, over there in the bush?" asked Seto, sliding his jacket back on and pointing to a large, thorny bush along the path. A pair of big, red eyes was visible between the many branches.

"I guess our bug friend came back," said Hermione, backing away from the bush. She then ran into something behind her.

"Hermione…I would move away from that if I were you…" Yugi warned, gazing up at the second insect.

Hermione slowly looked behind her. Another of the large insects was towering over her. She screamed in fright, and stumbled backwards, falling onto one of the many strange rocks. In a bright flash of light, a Cyber Harpie Lady was between her and the insect. With a swipe of her talons, the insect was destroyed in an instant.

"A Harpie Lady…came out of the rock?" Yami said to himself, "I guess when these rocks are touched, monsters come out!" He slapped his hand upon the nearest one, which brought forth a Celtic Guardian, as the other insect advanced onto him. "Celtic Guardian! Attack!"

Swinging his sword through the middle of the enemy, the insect was destroyed. Yami helped Hermione to her feet. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, "Once the overall shock goes away, yes. So, this…erm…what do you call her?"

"Cyber Harpie," said Seto, "I guess we collect monsters as we go."

"It would seem to be that way," said Yugi, taking control again, "but these belts of ours only have six slots."

A bright glow then surrounded both Hermione and Yugi's monsters. They then flew right into their respective 'shooters'. The shooter opened, and the capsules flew out, looking like the rocks from which they had come from. "Well, this also explains what the belts are for – holding these monster capsules," said Yugi, "now we should concentrate on finding Joey, Tristan and Tea."

"Well, which way did they go?" asked Seto, peering down both path directions.

* * *

"Well, that got rid of them," beamed Tristan, as he got up from the ground, "the coast is clear...for now."

After being chased by a bunch of bouncing roaches, he and Tea managed to duck into a tunnel, which led to a shoreline.

"Speaking of the coast," said Tea, admiring the beach. A small squeak turned her attention to behind her. "Tristan! We're not alone here. We've got some company!"

Sitting in the sand were two monsters. One was a monster familiar to Tea, the Happy Lover. The other was a small, chubby, yellow lizard, with big eyes.

"Aww," Tea cooed, "isn't it so cute?"

"Sure," laughed Tristan, "but the stubby yellow mutant lizard…ehh…not so much."

With that, the small lizard (Thunder Kid) began to cry.

"Now look what you did!"

"Hey! I didn't do anything!"

Tea looked at both of the small monsters, and then back toward the tunnel. "Where do you think they came from?"

"My guess is those freaky rocks. We were running pretty hard to get away from those bugs; we probably touched one of them each as we went by."

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense…"

Happy Lover and Thunder Kid began pointing toward the water, and then began cowering.

Tristan frowned, "What's with those two?"

"Tristan? What's that?" Tea pointed toward the middle of the water, where some type of creature was emerging. Raising itself up to its full height, it sent a wave toward the beach. Tristan and Tea ran toward the earth wall, as far back as they could, their capsule monsters following.

"Tea! You didn't touch another rock, did you!?"

"No! Whatever that thing is, I doubt he's friendly!"

* * *

Well, that's all for this chapter. If anyone has seen Capsule Monsters, and would like to give monster ideas or requests for Seto, Hermione, or for Yugi, Joey, Tristan, or Tea, please give them. I value all of your opinions.

* * *

Each character's monsters as of now…

Joey: Baby Dragon

Yugi: Celtic Guardian

Hermione: Cyber Harpie Lady

Tea: Happy Lover

Tristan: Thunder Kid

(Seto doesn't have a capsule monster yet)

The purple button below is glad to receive all of your questions, comments, complaints, and any other random whatever you want to send.


	6. Chapter 6

Yea…updates on this story have been…well, nothing. I've been busy. This is my senior year, and I've been working hard on my major grad requirement… that stinks and takes forever to do. Presentation of this 'thing' is the 5th of October, so after that, the ACT October 27th, application deadlines, and other wonderful things, I should be able to update! RotMS has not been forgotten!

As of now, these characters have these monsters from the Capsule Monsters world

Yugi: Celtic Guardian  
Seto: Nothing…_yet_

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Joey: Baby Dragon

Tea: Happy Lover

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Enjoy Chapter 6!

* * *

Chapter 6

Roland paced back and forth at the airport, checking his watch practically every thirty seconds.

"Ehh, Roland? Looking at your watch any more than you already are will _not_ bring the plane in any faster…"

"Mr. Kaiba, the plane is five hours late. Any time now, the flight should be coming in…any time."

Mokuba looked at his cell phone, checking it for messages, "If Seto knew he'd be late, why wouldn't he call? He always did in the past!"

"There is _always_ an explanation why Mr. Kaiba does the things he does. Perhaps his phone has low batteries, or he misplaced it."

"The last time Seto misplaced anything, it was when I took his Blue Eyes doodle and hid it from him…and technically, that doesn't count as being misplaced…so he never loses anything. It must be out of batteries or something. It _must_ be!"

(Three more hours later)

After hitting Burger World, and lapping the mall twice, Roland found himself back in the airport, at the Service desk, where help was minimal.

"Don't you know where the plane is?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," apologized the lady behind the desk, "the pilot of that aircraft has yet to radio a delay of any kind. They may have a problem and were forced to land somewhere."

"Uhh, Roland? Look at the TV…" Mokuba said, with worry plastered throughout his voice. Sighing, and deeply annoyed for the answers he wasn't getting, he removed his security sunglasses and looked at the screen.

_Reports from a flight tower on a remote island off of India show that a private aircraft had flown down, extremely close to the ground by the West side of the Island. A piece of debris, most likely from the plane, was found in the trees, hanging from a multitude of branches. There is a possibility, based on the small logo portion on the debris, that it was part of a Kaiba Corporation plane._

_The head of Kaiba Corporation privately uses the only planes with this logo. Based on the flight schedules, Mr. Seto Kaiba was returning to Japan from England, and his plane never hit the Tokyo Runway. _

_Speculation has led to the idea that this was from his plane. Emergency workers are combing the island for the rest of the plane, and – if any – survivors of the crash. More on this story when we have the information. And now, back to you Brent._

_Thanks, Jenny, and now the weather…_

"The plane…went down?" Mokuba's eyes were filling with sparkling tears, "Seto…"

Then, Roland's cell phone began to vibrate. "Yes?" he answered.

_"This is Jameston."_

"What is it?" asked Roland, "it had better be important…"

_"It is, Sir. We got a call from Mr. Kaiba about an hour ago, that the plane had indeed crashed and he was on some sort of island. We lost track of the plane's tracking device, but we've guessed a possible of six locations where he may be. A dispatch was just sent out after them."_

"Good! I'll let Mr. Kaiba know immediately – oh, is the phone he called from still available?"

_"I don't think so, Sir. We tried calling about ten minutes ago, and no one picked up. It wasn't his phone – it belonged to someone named 'Gardner'."_

"Ok, thanks. Keep me informed."

Mokuba looked expectantly up at Roland, "Well? Who was it?"

"Jameston. A dispatch was sent out to find Mr. Kaiba about, probably a half hour ago. Apparently, Mr. Kaiba sent a call to Kaiba Corp not too long ago, and they are tracing his location. Sadly, we cannot further communicate with him, as the phone he was using isn't working."

"At least we found him!" As the pair left the airport to go home, Mokuba's overall mood was happier for the finding of his brother.

* * *

"Are we even getting anywhere?" asked Yugi, as they passed the fifth fork in the road on their journey, "it seems like we've been to this spot before…"

"Well, this isn't the first splitting path we've come across," said Hermione, looking back and forth at the clearings ahead, "The last times, we've been going to the left, and always coming out here. Perhaps that one is only one big loop."

"I guess," said Yugi, looking towards the rightward area. "But who knows what could be down _that_ way…"

"Well, it _has_ to better than coming back here again, right?" said Seto, leaned against a tree.

"Right path it is, then," sighed Yugi, and leading the way, set down the wooded pathway.

(About two minutes later)

"We are officially lost."

* * *

The capsule monsters of Tea and Tristan moved in front of their respective owners, in an attempt – as sad and pathetic as it looked – to protect their masters.

"They want to protect us! Those little guys want to take on the big sea serpent!" said Tea.

Tristan chuckled, "it's not exactly a fair fight though. But, we can't let Flounder-head wipe them out, so let's do this!"

The monster sent out a water wave toward Thunder Kid, who barely had time to dodge. It's paw got in the way of the blast.

Tristan sent out a gasp of pain, clutching his arm as Tea ran to his side, "what happened?"

"Weird," gasped Tristan, "my monster got hit, but I feel the pain – argh!!" His monster was on the run from the enemy's attacks, but was not quick enough to block each one completely.

"There must be something I can do to help…" Tea murmured to no one in particular. Looking around frantically, she finally found Happy Lover hiding behind a boulder.

"C'mon! You can't hide forever! We need your help!" Tea tried to convince her monster to come out of hiding, but to no prevail. Each attempt left Happy Lover to use her wings to cover her face, shielding it from the danger beyond its hiding place.

Looking upon the heart imprinted upon its forehead gave Tea an idea. "Hey! Can you heal wounded monsters?"

Happy Lover looked up, its expression answering her question. Tea smiled, "you have an ability that can help us! Now we can put it to use!" She turned to Tristan, who was behind a boulder of his own with his monster, trying to recover from the damage they had taken, "Help is on the way!"

Tristan looked at her doubtingly, "It is!?"

Happy Lover quickly flew to Tristan, avoiding the waves sent in its direction, and landed beside him. The heart on her forehead began to emit a pink glow, and heart shaped rays flew right into Thunder Kid. Within a minute, Tristan jumped up, energized.

"Thanks Tea! I feel like a million bucks! Who's the man? I'm the man!" He and his monster began some sort of dance move.

"Reality check, Tristan! There's a big monster trying to get you here!"

"Calm down, Tea! Didn't you hear me? I'm the man! Now come here, little dude! We need to make a surprise attack!"

Tristan grabbed his Thunder Kid in his arms, and flung him into the direction of the sun. The sea serpent, blinded by looking into the light, couldn't make out the Thunder Kid falling into its line of vision. Thunder Kid sent out its electrical shock attacks into the monster. Fried, the serpent slumped forward, but did not fall.

"We did it!" Tea hugged Happy Lover. Tristan gave Thunder Kid a high-5. Neither of them noticed the crack emitting from the monster that they had defeated, and how the crack continued to spread…

* * *

Flying high in the air, Baby Dragon transported Joey to the nearest landing – a scenic waterfall. Resting behind the rushing waters, Joey sighed and looked around, his dragon drinking from the falls.

"Let's face it! I'm hopelessly lost! There's no way I'll see Yug' and the others!" He then spotted a small cave behind a large boulder. Deciding to investigate, Joey spotted a small chest.

"Things are definitely lookin' up! A treasure chest! I'll be rich and famous! A celebrity! I'll be a spoiled brat! _I'll be richer than Kaiba!_ Yea!" He eyed it greedily, "what could be in there? Gold, jewels? Tons of cash? The suspense is killin' me!"

Without waiting a moment longer, Joey flung open the top. The big, greedy grin vanished in an instant. There was nothing there except for a tattered piece of rolled up parchment.

"Aww, man! What could this be?" He unraveled it, revealing a map of the area. It was mostly water and forests. A small skull was drawn in one clearing, and a fortress like building in one of the mountains. "This is worthless! There's no waterfall on here! How am I supposed to figure out where I am now??"

Baby Dragon, who had appeared by Joey's side, pointed a claw at the only waterfall on the map. "Oh, stupid me! How could I have missed that!"

Joey got up, a little too quickly, and hit his head on the cave wall, "Owww! C'mon, Baby Dragon! Let's go find Yug' and the others!"

* * *

"We are so lost. This is worst than the time when I started High School, and the big seniors picked on me because I was short and had ridiculous hair. Anyway, they gave me a map of the school on my first day with all the room numbers switched around. It stunk!"

"Is it just me," Seto began, looking to sides as he walked, ignoring Yugi's story, "or does the forest seem to be closing in on us. There _definitely_ were less trees back a few ways."

"I think it's just you…then again, after being attacked by a mutant bug – two of them, I'm starting to doubt that anything is what it really appears to be."

"Tea, Joey, and Tristan must be around here somewhere," said Yugi, looking about, "how big can this place be? I mean, we've been walking forever, it seems! You would have thought one of them would have – YAHH!" Yugi side stumbled and fell over.

A tree branch had come out of nowhere and had tried to grab the smallest of the three. Looking behind him, Yugi saw a large mutant tree in the middle of the path. Its many branches were alive, trying to get hold of them.

Yami quickly switched control, and loaded his Celtic Guardian into the shooter. "I hope this works," he muttered, "Go! Celtic Guardian!" His warrior emerged between the two, shielding its master from the threat.

Hermione took this hint and summoned her Cyber Harpie as well. As their monsters were summoned, more of the normal trees became monsters, blocking their only chances of escape. As Celtic Guardian backed away, blocking the branch attacks, one of the thorny branches latched itself around the Guardian's leg, pulling it to the ground.

The other trees followed suit. Another branch fastened itself to Seto's leg, as he tried to reach the only capsule rock in the area.

Cyber Harpie, who was also attacked by the many branches, stretched one of her talons and broke him free. Scrambling to his feet, Seto grabbed hold of the monster. From the stone emerged Blue Eyes Baby Dragon **(I thought it sounded so cute and had to make one up – a description at the end of the chapter)**, and its lightning blast sent off a chain reaction that fried the wild branches on the trees. The remaining fled from the scene.

"I didn't know there was a Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, did you, Kaiba?" asked Yami.

"It was a gift from Pegasus – he sent it to me, while at Hogwarts. I never used it yet though."

"Now that the trees are…well…violent, maybe we should move on to a…maybe safer place?" asked Hermione. She kept glancing around, as if something was going to emerge from behind a bush and attack her.

"Good plan…"

When finally reached an end of the woods, Seto, Hermione and Yugi (Yami let Yugi back in control) found themselves at a beach – and hiding behind a particularly large boulder, was Tea and Tristan, with Happy Lover and Thunder Kid. The sea serpent that was supposedly defeated was very much alive, and even stronger. Every hit that missed its target and hit the sand left a hole in its place.

Tea was the first to notice Yugi and the others, "Yugi! Over here!"

"Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine," Tristan called from behind Tea. Thunder Kid and Happy Lover were cowering in fear, "but we could use some help getting this Freaky-Fish off our tail!"

"Here I come guys!"

Everyone looked up simultaneously. Joey was flying above them on Baby Dragon. "Attack, Baby Dragon!" Both Baby Dragon and Blue Eyes Baby Dragon opened their mouths and sent out their attack – fire and lightning. The monster sank back into the ocean, defeated.

Joey landed by the shoreline. "Ehh, guys? Let's eat! I'm starving!"

* * *

Harry Potter stared at the ceiling in his bedroom. Sooner or later Uncle Vernon would call him down for the sole reason to blame Harry for something that wasn't his fault. While on his vacation from work, Uncle Vernon had taken a liking to blaming him for problems most likely caused by Dudley.

"BOY!"

There was the signal. Sighing, Harry got off his bed and slowly made his way downstairs. Aunt Petunia was out with Dudley shopping for who-knows-what, and Harry had been in his room all morning.

"What?" asked Harry, as he entered the living room and faced his uncle.

"This was delivered. And that owl there wants payment of some ruddy sort…"

"Oh…" Harry paid the delivery owl a Knut and peered at the headlines in the Prophet. As always, there were the deaths by the hands of Voldemort, or attacks on Muggles, and this edition showed nothing new worth reading.

"This can't be the only reason you called me down here…"

"Well, no. I remember…back at the train parking lot, where you and _your lot_ were with some…celebrities…"

"Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba, you mean?"

"Well, this came for you from Kaiba Corporations. How close _are_ you to Seto Kaiba anyway!"

"We're friends…" Harry took the envelope from his Uncle. It had already been opened. "You read my mail!"

"So what if I did? You live in _my_ house and I feel that I have the liberty to look through suspicious things entering my home!"

"Whatever…" Harry stormed back into his room and opened it.

_Harry-  
__Ehh, hi! I know you don't really know me too well, and stuff, but I'm Seto's little brother, Mokuba. I know you are friends with Seto and I thought you should know about what happened. His plane going from England to home went down somewhere by India. There are search crews and stuff looking around, but there's a chance that Seto's gone… He did send a phone call for help, but we're having trouble tracing to a definite point. You can email me at the address below and I can keep you updated on this search. I don't know how fast the mail gets to you.  
Mokuba Kaiba _

"Wow…I can't believe it," Harry said to no one in particular. _Hang on, how did this get here so fast?_ Harry turned the envelope over in his fingers and peered at the return address.  
Kaiba Corporation London  
4312 Cherry Alley Lane  
London

Harry turned and opened his window, allowing Hedwig to fly in when she returns from hunting. _I hope you're safe guys…get home all right. It's too dangerous out there to be alone, and maybe injured in an unfamiliar place…_

* * *

That's all!

Here are the monster stats so far:

Yugi: Celtic Guardian  
Tea: Happy Lover  
Joey: Baby Dragon  
Tristan: Thunder Kid  
Hermione: Cyber Harpie  
Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Here are the stats on Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

**Name**: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

**Level**: 4

**Attribute**: Light

**Type**: Dragon

**Atk**: 1500

**Def**: 1250

**Effect**: During your standby phase, tribute this card to Special Summon "Blue Eyes White Dragon" from your hand. "Blue Eyes White Dragon" summoned in this way cannot attack this turn.

Imagine the image like a cross between Blue Eyes Toon Dragon, and Baby Dragon

The purple button below is free for questions, comments, complaints, and rants about my lack of updates.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone – like I promised, here's the next installment of _Return of the Millennium Sword!_

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh (belongs to Kazuki Takahashi), nor do I own Harry Potter (belongs to Jo Rowling).

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Plus, if you live in the US, Happy Turkey Day! I don't think any other country besides us celebrates Thanksgiving, but if you do, have a happy holiday!

/Blah/ means spirit to host

**/Blah/ **means host to spirit

* * *

Monsters since the end of the last chapter are as follows…

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tea: Happy Lover

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Yugi: Celtic Guardian

Joey: Baby Dragon

* * *

Chapter 7

Brisbane sighed, and gazed at his reflection in the water. Lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with him, as dark circles began to form around his eyes. A gentle breeze rustled the trees near the lake, as the man stood and brushed off his coat. The surroundings, all except the pyramid, seemed peaceful enough, yet he knew something was about to happen.

He was right.

When the breeze ceased, the snap of a twig was heard not too far in the distance. Brisbane whirled around. While the teenagers were trapped within the mysterious Capsule Monster world, he had wandered all around the island, and hadn't found a single animal. Was someone else on the island besides him? Had a rescue team found the plane wreckage?

It wasn't a rescue operation, but a single man. Unlike his previous visitor, this man hair wasn't graying, nor did he have any facial hair. Like Brisbane, he was quite young. Blond hair, sleek and straight covered his head. His cold grey eyes remained focused on Brisbane as he approached. A wand was visible in his hand, though it was not pointed at any one thing in particular.

"You're Alex Brisbane, aren't you?" said the boy. His tone made it plainly clear he would rather be anywhere but here.

"Yes, may I ask your name, as mine is of no trivia to you?"

"I come from Gozaboro," was the only thing the boy said.

"Oddly enough, I figured that much on my own. What is _your_ name?"

The boy paused for a moment, "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Okay, Draco. What does Mr. Kaiba want now?"

"He wants you to go into the pyramid and enter the other world. He apparently wants the people inside to be able to come out safely." Draco shrugged, "that's all."

"I see," said Brisbane after a pause, "well, thank you Draco."

Malfoy nodded, turned, and apparated off with a loud crack. Brisbane looked at a large white cloud in the sky. _Why do you want me to go into that world? You originally wanted them trapped in there! Oh well, I guess I could use a little action myself. _Brisbane carefully reentered the pyramid, made his way to the large chamber, and stopped just before the map. _The dilemma at hand. Where are those kids now? They could be anywhere in there! Well, if memory serves correctly, the one with the ridiculous hairdo entered with two friends on the forest path, the blond on the mountain, and…oh I don't remember about the other two. I'll just try…this one!_

Closing his eyes, Brisbane stepped upon the forest path. Keeping his eyes firmly shut, he felt himself drop into the mysterious floor…

* * *

"Marik, are you ready yet?"

"No!"

"Well, why not!?"

"Five more minutes!"

"You said that _ten_ minutes ago!"

"But Ishizu…" Marik trailed off when he took one glance at his sister's facial expression, "yea, I'm ready," he said quickly.

"Good because…" Ishizu trailed off for a moment, "Marik! Someone here needs to speak with you!"

"What do you mean? The only other person living here is Odion and he's not even here right now!"

Sighing, Marik entered the room to come to face Shadi. "Oh, err, hi."

Shadi withdrew his hand from his robes, the Millennium Rod in his grasp.

"Woah!" Marik didn't take his eyes off of his former item, "isn't Kaiba supposed to have that?"

"I am afraid, there has been an accident," Shadi began, "Seto Kaiba, along with the Pharaoh and his friends never made the journey home from England."

Marik opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Ishizu put her hand to her open mouth in shock, but said nothing, as Shadi continued.

"The plane supposedly crashed on the return journey. The Millennium Rod, hidden safely in a case, became dislodged during the crash. I have retrieved it, before a new evil could grasp it in their quest for power. I ask you either hold it for safekeeping, until Seto Kaiba returns."

"Okay," Marik nodded, still in shock over what had happened, "but what if…Kaiba…what if he's dead?"

"Should that happen, I will take the Item and guard it, along with the Key and Scales. I can sense now that Seto Kaiba is alive, yet his past spirit is restless for some 'air'. If you would allow him to temporarily use your body as a host, it will help him understand what has happened."

Marik nodded and took his old item in his hands "Okay, I can…" Marik looked up, expecting to see Shadi standing before him, but the Egyptian was gone.

In a flash of light, Set was transparent beside him. The former High Priest looked around.

"Marik! What is going on?"

"Kaiba's plane went down, Set. We don't know much, but we're going now to Domino – we as in Ishizu and me, I guess now, you're coming too."

Set just gaped, "is Seto…of course he's alright. I wouldn't be able to be here right now should my host die…where did you say we were going?"

"Domino, Priest," said Ishizu, "I have to check up on the Egyptian exhibit there to make sure everything is well."

Set nodded and glanced at his Millennium Item, firmly in Marik's hand. _Poor Mokuba_, he thought.

**/I here you. Poor kid must be a wreck!/**

/What the – oh, it's you Marik! I have to get used to a link with someone other than my present self…/

**/Don't worry – I'll try not to snore at night./**

/Least of my worries, friend. The very least of my worries…/

* * *

Remus and Arthur were outside a wardroom in St. Mungo's, waiting for the head Healer to give them a report on the body they had found in the guest bedroom of Hermione's home.

"What do you think happened?" asked Remus, "do you think either Mr. or Mrs. Granger were able to kill that Death Eater, before they were killed in the kitchen?"

Arthur shrugged, "it's a definite possibility. However, I don't know how the room would be sealed the way it was. I'm not an expert of Muggle contraptions, though I would love to be, but that door was magically-sealed. No way either of them able to do it."

"What about if a Death Eater killed that Death Eater before going after the parents?"

"Why would he…or she…do that? Seems kind of pointless to kill off those on your side."

"Just a thought…"

The door to the room opened, and a middle-aged Healer came out.

"Remus. Arthur," he nodded in greeting.

"Well, Ropers? What do you have?" asked Remus, "Who is he?"

"Not a Death Eater, but an ex-Auror named Horsh. According to Alastor, he went missing four weeks ago, while working undercover in the protection of the Grangers. Through his body were traces of Veritaserum."

"That all?"

"Afraid so. Oh, and we found a small wand fragment on his body. It belongs to a Yar Krieger. That's all I can tell you for now."

Arthur clapped the Healer, Ropers, on the back, "Thanks Ropers."

"Anytime Arthur. Oh, and give my condolences to the daughter."

"Who?"

"The Grangers – they had a daughter, right?"

"Oh, yes. I'll be sure to tell Hermione."

Ropers shook his head sadly, "A shame what happened to her parents…"

"Yes, well, thank you Ropers."

As Remus and Arthur headed out of the Ministry, the light bulb 'clicked' in Arthur's head.

"Who's wand was on that body?" asked Arthur.

Remus checked the parchment the healer had given him, "Yar Krieger."

Arthur shook his head, "Is he a Death Eater?"

Remus looked at his companion, "there's only one way to find out."

* * *

Harry, now at the Burrow for the rest of the summer, finished telling Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny what had happened.

"So, Hermione's dead?"

"Ron! Were you not paying attention to what I just told you?"

"Sorry, Harry. Lot on my mind right about now."

"We don't know if they're dead or not…"

"Dad!" Ginny jumped up from the couch and hugged her father, who closed the door behind him.

"Hello Harry," said Remus, "is Alastor here?"

"May-Eye?" asked Mrs. Weasley, "he's in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Molly." Arthur and Remus continued through the living room and approached the retired Auror.

"Alastor, do you know Yar Krieger?"

"Yar Krieger?" repeated Mad-Eye, his magical eye going in every which-way. "The Death Eater Yar Krieger?"

"I suppose so. Part of his wand was found on the corpse from the Granger's place."

"Hmm, he is a Death Eater, but the last I heard of him was three years ago. Not one to publicize himself, Krieger."

"I see, well…" Remus stopped speaking at once. Racking his memory banks, he quickly stood up. "Alastor, I need your help!"

"What's going on, Remus?" asked Molly.

"Yar Krieger. I thought I saw his name from someplace. He's Seto Kaiba's pilot. I had asked him if he'd rather Portkey back to Japan. He said he trusted Krieger; he's been his personal pilot for two years."

"If that Krieger is the boy's pilot, and he and Hermione went back to Japan on it, and Krieger's a Death Eater…" Moody finally understood. "We've got to track that plane."

"Can't Mad-Eye," said George, "it went down."

Moody stopped dead in his tracks, his magical eye focused on George's nose, "What did?"

"The plane."

Remus gaped at George, at a loss for words. He finally found it in himself to gather a sentence, "What? When did this happen?"

"Not too long ago, according to this," Harry handed Remus Mokuba's letter.

"Mad-Eye, do you think that Krieger used Veritaserum on Horsh, then killed him when he learned everything he could? He then could have taken on the identity on Seto's pilot, to purposely kill the kids on Voldemort's orders?"

"It's a possibility, but there's also the chance Krieger could have been 'in the family' with Kaiba for a long period of time, without taking someone else's identity. He could have been passing info to Voldemort from under our noses."

"I don't think it would be to Voldemort, Mr. Weasley," said Harry, "we learned that Gozaboro Kaiba was a Death Eater as well, and he's out in the open too. Maybe this Krieger works for Gozaboro, and not Voldemort," he guessed, ignoring every one of Ron's flinches from the saying of Voldemort's name.

"Whatever the case," began Moody, "I'm going to Japan with Remus immediately. We'll bring Tonks too. We need to see who else isn't who they say to be around those kids' families."

* * *

"Ryou! Mail's here!"

Ryou finished packing his things together and walked to the front door. A pile of letters from the mail slot was piled on the mat by the door.

/So/ Bakura began /what came?/

**/Nothing for you, Yami. Bill, another bill, magazine subscription, bill…/**

/What's that one?/

**/Well, it's not for you. That's for sure…/**

/No duh Sherlock!/

**/It's from Mokuba!/**

/Kaiba's bratty brother?/

**/Thief, Mokuba may be a hyperactive boy, but he is definitely not a brat!/**

/Yea, sure. I wasn't listening. Now just read the letter before I do and then leave you in the dark!/

**/Gee, thanks. I love you too…/**

/Uh huh, nice to know you don't care. Hey wait! Can I have my body back now?/

**/Not till we get back to Japan tomorrow! You saw how Dad almost had a heart attack! I promised him/**

/Fine, fine…/

Ryou opened the letter. As his brown eyes scanned the contents, the rest of the mail slipped from his fingers. Upon finishing reading he gazed out the window. _Be safe guys._

* * *

It was dark, the only light coming from a small campfire. Whatever amount of food the group had from Tea's bag, Joey was rapidly eating it.

"Oh, that's really attractive," Tristan snickered, as Joey shoved a handful of chips into his already-full mouth.

"The good thing is that now we're all here, so we can figure a way out of this mess," said Yugi.

Joey took one large gulp, "I found something that might be helpful, guys. Feast your eyes on this! Tada!"

Seto glanced at the sheet Joey pulled out, "this map resembles the floor tiles in the pyramid. Would be useful though if there was a big neon 'Exit' sign on here."

"That'd take all the fun out of it," muttered Tristan. Tea cocked an eyebrow at him. Tristan laughed and added, "Not that being attacked by strange, menacing creatures is fun or anything, ha ha."

Seto noticed Hermione looking uneasy at the nearest set of bushes. "What is it?"

"Weren't those bushes farther away a minute ago?"

Yugi looked around, "you're right. There definitely weren't this many here before."

The bushes moved forward again, and now, into the light. The bushes weren't bushes at all, but wolves with plants upon their heads.

"Oh no!" Tea gasped, as the group moved closer together by the fire, "We're surrounded!"

"Those are the ugliest little doggies I've ever seen," laughed Joey.

Tristan whacked him on the head, "this isn't funny, Joey. These…things…mean business, and you're probably number one on their list of munchies."

"Oh, very funny, Tristan! You're a real comedian!"

One of the front-most wolves lifted his head back with a long howl. More joined in, before one pounced upon the group.

* * *

That's all for now! I know, probably the worst spot to end this, but oh well!

The purple button likes being pressed! I also love hearing your rants, comments, complaints, questions, and any other randomness that occurs because of my wacky stories.


	8. Chapter 8

Hmm, I realize this is days past my Christmas _and_ March 5 deadline. For some reason, this chapter took a lot more time than I thought to crank out. But that's okay. A few days late is better than about a month or two, isn't it? I've been having trouble with all of my fanfics at the moment. Nothing too extreme, just planning ahead, getting my thoughts down on paper…well…typing my thoughts so they make sense. I might extend some of the deadlines I made for myself. 

If you want to see when the next chapter **should** be up by, check my profile. I list all of my deadlines with my story info. Whether or not I make the deadlines is a different story…

Speaking of my profile, I set up a poll to see which of my fanfics you readers and fans love the most. As the results keep coming in, the clear majorities are the ones I'm going to make my top priority in updating quicker. Or at least I'll try too…. At the moment, _Back to Duel_, my Yu-Gi-Oh GX story is in the lead, so take a moment and vote for your favorite!

I'm a bit tired of ranting, so I'm going to move on now with the fanfic. 

* * *

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. 

I also don't own Harry Potter. It belongs to JK Rowling. 

_**If I did **_own one of the two, or both, I would be extremely rich, would not be writing these fanfictions, and would be considering writing a small miniseries on the school years of James and Lily Potter, right up to the point of their deaths. That's pretty much where the Harry Potter books take over…

Oops. I'm ranting again. Dangit.

* * *

Monsters since last chapter

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tea: Happy Lover

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Yugi: Celtic Guardian

Joey: Baby Dragon

/Blah/ is spirit to host

**/Blah/**is host to spirit

* * *

Chapter 8

One of the strange wolves pounced at Joey, but he was able to dodge the creature in the nick of time. Yami quickly took control of Yugi, and grabbed his Celtic Guardian capsule. "I summon Celtic Guardian!"

Joey and Tristan looked down at their own capsules, "Oh, so that's what these are for," said Tristan. He took out his Thunder Kid and summoned it. Joey, Seto and Hermione also summoned their monsters. 

While the capsule monsters were successful in keeping back some of the wolves, there were way too many wolves for the five monsters to defeat.

One of them was able to bypass one of Blue Eyes' lightning streams and bit into Baby Dragon's side. 

"NYEH!" Joey clutched his own side and knelt to the ground. "This is insane! My own monster was hit, but I felt the damage!"

"Maybe it's a Shadow Game," Tea thought aloud. Grabbing a stick from the fire, she waved the flaming end at some of the wolves, which slowly backed away.

Another wolf ran forward and bit Thunder Kid's shoulder.

"AHH!" Tristan winced in pain. Tea hurried to his side.

Yami looked around him. Aside from side pains he was sporting, thanks to the wolves, Tea seemed the only one unhurt and was helping Tristan, who was kneeling on the ground. Joey was throwing flaming sticks at some of the creatures, while trying to avoid several hungry jaws. Hermione was on the ground, rubbing her ankle and commanding her Harpie, and Seto, while trying to help Hermione to her feet, was keeping his right arm pinned across his chest. Yami could nearly make out small red streaks coming from the other duelist's right wrist. Yami sighed, he knew if Seto's path crossed Dolores Umbridge's one day, the result would not be pretty. A growl from Baby Dragon brought his thoughts back to reality with just enough time to escape from bring bitten.

"There's too many of them to beat!" Tea cried, "We'll never be able to get rid of all of them."

"That's it!" Hermione looked towards Joey and Tristan, who were swatting the wolves with sticks, "We just need to distract them long enough to get away!"

"Oh, that's all?"

"Of course!" Yami turned to his monster, "Celtic Guardian, throw your sword!"

As Celtic Guardian threw his sword into the air, Tristan commanded Thunder Kid to attack. When the electric sparks hit the sword, it sent out a blinding flash of light. When the light cleared and the wolves were able to see again, the teenagers were gone.

* * *

Yugi leaned against a tree. "I'm pretty sure we won't have to deal with those things anymore."

"Well, the next time I come across man-eating flower wolves in the forest, I'll know exactly what to do," said Tea.

"Yea," Tristan smirked, "blind 'em and run for it."

"Hey!" Joey shot up, "This qualifies as a victory!"

"You're right!" Tristan pumped a fist, "Victory dance time!"

Joey and Tristan then did the can-can dance, swinging their legs about as they sang, horribly out of tune, "Can- can, kick a little can-can, show 'em who's the man-man, you should've seen the way they ran-ran…"

Seto rolled his eyes, "Idiots…"

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to find the way out of here," said Hermione. 

"I'm with you," said Tea, ignoring her two friends' dance, "We got in here pretty easily, but I doubt getting out will be as simple."

"I agree," said Yugi, "We should really get a move on." After he spoke those words, a strange rumbling noise filled everyone's ears. Well, almost everyone.

"What was that?" asked Tristan, stopping his dance. 

"I'm not sure," said Yugi, "What do you think, Joey?"

"All I hear is my stomach…"

"Joey!" Tea shot him a wide-eyed look, "you just ate ten minutes ago!"

"Look!" Tristan pointed toward a clearing in the trees. They were able to see mountains far off in the distance. "The mountains are moving!"

"It's not the mountains, Tristan," said Hermione, "it's us!"

With Joey and Tristan leading the pack, they headed through the trees. Joey suddenly stopped short, and Tristan nearly plowed into him.

"What's your problem, dude?"

"Look! We're on a turtle!"

Tea stopped by the edge and looked around, "Wow…"

"This whole island's a turtle?" asked Hermione, "That's a little strange."

Yugi, who was behind in the group's dash, had finally arrived. He stopped, catching his breath, then peered around. "Wow! It's an island turtle! They're usually peaceful creatures that won't attack unless they're provoked."

"Well, from all we've been through so far, a little peace would be nice," Tea muttered.

The turtle, however, wasn't so keen about having teenagers on its back, and decided to dive. Yugi grabbed hold of a tree branch, and noticed, out of the corner of his eye, a temple-like structure across the water.

"Look! Land ho!" 

Joey ran toward the edge and dived off the turtle, "Abandon ship!"

"For once, the mutt came up with a good idea," Seto muttered, following everyone off of the turtle. 

As the massive creature disappeared completely from sight, Tea turned back to her friends. Shaking water out of her face, she sighed, "That turtle left us high and dry."

"No!" Joey scowled, "he left us low and wet!"

Yugi was the first to reach the strange temple on the other side of the water's edge. "This place seems safe enough…what do you guys think?"

"Probably isn't safe, but can't be worse than the wolves."

The doors to the building were open, and from the outside, it was impossible to tell if anyone else was around. Slowly, and cautiously, they took a step inside.

Once Seto, who walked in last, cleared the opening, the doors slammed shut.

"Oh, man," said Tea, "that's not a good sign."

"Hey, look up there!" Joey pointed towards a small pot on a pedestal on the other side of the room, "It's a teapot!"

"That's no teapot, Wheeler."

"How would you know, Rich Boy?"

The 'teapot' began to shake violently, and out of it came a green genie.

Seto gave Joey the 'I-told-you-so' look. Yami quickly took control from Yugi and stepped back, "It's La Jinn, the Genie of the Lamp!" Right after he said those words, the doors to the temple flew open. Water from the river flooded right into the room, and strangely enough, stopped flowing around Hermione and Tea. Instantly, the water began to freeze around them.

"Hey! What the – " Hermione's words were cut off as the ice froze her over completely.

"Help me!" Tea held out her arm to Yami, but it was too late.

"Hermione! Tea!" Yami cried.

From out of the forming ice was another creature, Neo Aqua Madoor. Glaring down upon the four boys, he sent shards of ice at them, while at the same time; La Jinn sent a fireball at their backs.

"Great!" Joey scowled, "Now we're surrounded!"

"Well, we can't let them burn or turn us into ice, so let's show 'em what we're made of! Come out, Thunder Kid!"

Yami pulled out his own capsule, "I summon Celtic Guardian."

"Blue Eyes Baby Dragon!"

"ATTACK!" 

"Hey, Wheeler – are you going to let us do all the work, or are you going to pitch in?" Seto glared at Joey, but then diverted his attention to dodge a sharp ice shard.

"Oh yea…let's go, Baby Dragon!"

"Ouch!" Tristan doubled over as a rogue fireball hit Thunder Kid's leg.

"There must be some way to defeat these creatures…there's fire on one end and ice on the other…"

Yami turned to the others, "That's it! Each one of these monster's strengths, is the other's weakness. In order to win this, the two monsters must fight each other!"

"Oh, that's all?" Joey and Tristan glanced at each other, "we can do that." 

Thunder Kid and Baby Dragon then went to the different monsters and provoked them into simultaneous battle. As the attacks neared, Joey and Tristan pulled back their monsters. La Jinn roared after being sliced by the ice shards and vanished. Neo Aqua Madoor, after being hit with a massive fireball, melted into a puddle on the floor. After Madoor became nothing more than a wet spot on the tile ground, Tea and Hermione thawed. 

"You guys alright?" Tristan helped the girls to their feet.

"I feel alright," said Hermione, "a bit cold, but fine." Tea agreed. 

The doors leading outside opened once more. At the same time, a large stone tablet rose from the floor in front of where La Jinn used to rest. The tablet had hieroglyphics carved all over it. The group gathered around the large grey stone.

"Anyone know how to read this junk?" asked Joey, " 'cuz I can't make heads or tails over it." 

"I can read it," said Yami. Staring at the carved letters, he read the message aloud. It read:

_Before the shadows blanket the land_

_Go to the Fortress of Fear._

_Locate the place where the spirits sleep_

_And the pathway you seek will appear._

"So what does it mean?" asked Tea.

"It means that before nightfall we have to find a fortress, locate a coffin-like thing and the ticket out of here will 'magically' appear in front of our noses," said Seto.

"I knew that…"

"You wish, Wheeler."

Tea walked outside the building and looked around. The water came right up to the steps leading inside and the sun was beginning to set.

"It would take too long to go this way. Who knows what could be in the water."

"We could risk it, right Tristan?" Joey asked.

"Oh yea. Anything to get out of here."

"I really appreciate your votes of confidence, guys," said Hermione, walking out of the temple, "but I found a way out. We can go _under_ the water. I'll show you."

She led Tea, Joey and Tristan back inside. Next to the tablet was a passage leading down into the floor.

"Good work, Hermione," said Yugi, after he gained control, "this will definitely come in handy, giving it takes us in the right direction."

They took off down the tunnel at the base of the stairs.

"Hey guys, wait up! My legs are shorter than yours, remember?"

When Yugi came out the other side, he joined the others. They were in a small clearing. The ground was devoid of grass. It seemed in need of a good rainfall. Some boulders were scattered along the edges of the clearing, as well as some monster capsules.

"This place looks like it needs a makeover," said Tea.

A few crows cawed and flew off. Joey freaked out and hugged the nearest boulder.

"Scared of crow, Wheeler?"

"NO! What makes you think that?"

"I'd say hugging the rock, looking like you've seen a ghost."

"I've had a bad experience with birds, ok!"

A deep rumbling sound was heard in the near distance.

"What was that?" asked Yugi, searching around.

"It sounded like it came from the ground," said Hermione. The rumblings continued, then Joey pulled out the map he found.

"Uh, guys? It seems we're in some sort of graveyard…" No sooner had Joey spoke when a ghoulish hand rose from the ground near him. Startled, Joey scrambled back into the side of a boulder. More zombies rose from the ground, encircling the group. 

"Oh great," Tristan said, "_more_ monsters."

"Well, let's take them out," said Yugi. He could feel Yami aching for control. **/Sorry Yami, but I want to fight this one. You can't fight all of my battles/**

/Be careful, Yugi. I'll feel better when we're out of this place and I'll have my body back. Until then…/

**/I can handle this/**. Yugi pulled out his Celtic Guardian capsule and summoned it. 

"Sounds like a good idea, Yug'." Joey summoned his own Baby Dragon, as Thunder Kid, Happy Lover, Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, and Cyber Harpie also came into view. 

The capsule monsters and the zombies immediately clashed. However, the number of zombies immediately outnumbered the six capsule monsters. They continued to come, at least two for every one destroyed. 

"We've got to unleash more capsules!" Joey ran up to the nearest rock and touched it. Brandishing his weapon, Flame Swordsman immediately jumped into the battle. Yugi and Tea grabbed the last two capsules, unleashing a Kuriboh for Yugi and Dark Witch for Tea. While Kuriboh did nothing more than annoy and distract the zombies, it was Dark Witch that destroyed the remaining ghouls. 

"Glad that's over," said Tristan, dropping to sit on the ground.

"Look, up there!" Hermione pointed off in the distance. High, on what seemed to be a hilltop, was a building. "We must have to go to that place!"

"The sun's going down, we have to hurry!" Yugi took off in the direction of the building. At the base of the hill, there was a massive set of stairs.

"Oh, man!" Joey stared up, "We have to climb all the way up there?"

"More climbing, less complaining, Wheeler."

I'll beat you to the top, Rich Boy, just you wait!" Joey started after Seto, who had already started up the long flight.

Although determined, Joey was the last to reach the top. Gasping for breath, he joined the others, minus Seto, sitting on the ground, regaining their strength. 

Seto was circling the perimeter of the fortress, and he returned to the others puzzled. "There's no way inside. Not even a crack _anywhere_."

"Maybe there's a way over it!" Joey summoned Baby Dragon and jumped on its back. "It's a bird, it's a plane!" cried Joey as he soared near the top of the fortress, "No! It's Flying Joey Free-Wheeler! Here I come to save the day!" 

Baby Dragon ran into a force field of some sort and they both went crashing to the ground.

Joey stared at the building; "So much for that…I did figure out that beyond these four walls is the actual fortress. These is a big barrier preventing us from going' inside!"

Seto walked over to the wall. Carved in the stone was a picture. A rectangle was surrounded by another rectangle. The edges of the outer rectangles had four squares at the corners. Inside the squares were large circles. _This is obviously some sort of clue to getting in…but what could it be?_

Hermione walked to the corner of the fortress. On each corner was a massive statue. Mimicking the statue by crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at the large stone sculpture, wondering if they could use it to break a hole in the wall. _Too much thought. We wouldn't be able to budge the statue, let alone knock the wall down…_

Just then one of the circles Seto had been boring his eyes into lit up in a blue light. Blinking he looked around. Joey and Tristan were arm wrestling each other, Tea and Yugi were watching, and Hermione was staring at a statue.

_That's it!_ Seto thought, and then the light went out. _What the…_

Hermione came over, "Think of anything?"

"Yea, actually. I think I've got this figured out."

"Then tell Moneybags, don't leave us hanging!"

"Stop whining, Wheeler. From your flying adventure, it seems this inner rectangle represents the fortress, and the outer one represents the walls surrounding it. The small squares represent the four statues on the corners of the walls."

"So?"

Seto glared at Joey, "_So_, the statues are the key to getting in. Hermione, before, what were you doing?"

Hermione was surprised by the sudden question, "Oh, erm…I was over there, by that statue, mimicking it, I suppose."

"Do it again."

"Alright…." Hermione went back to the statue and crossed her arms. The blue light returned. 

"Apparently if we imitate the statues, the squares light up. I bet if all four are glowing, the walls will disappear."

"Then let's do it, there's not much time left!" Joey, Tristan and Tea went to the other three corners. Joey was imitating a bird, Tea was posing as a scary demon, and Tristan merely held a shrugging position in front of an angel-like statue.

With a loud rumble, the wall with the rectangle carvings raised itself high, leading the way inside.

"So now what?" asked Joey.

"I think that you have to stay there to leave the door open, so only Seto and I can go inside," said Yugi, "stay in those positions!"

The sun was still lowering in the sky. 

"Let's go." Seto and Yugi ran inside, and stopped once they entered the fortress. A lone tomb was on the other side of the room.

"That must be 'where the spirit sleeps'," said Seto, "It just seems too easy."

"Maybe, but we don't have time," said Yugi, "we have to reach the tomb before the sun sets!"

They ran into the tomb, but the middle of the floor gave away, and the two plummeted to a pit in the floor.

"Like I said," groaned Seto, getting off the floor, "too easy."

"We have to find the way out of here," said Yami, taking control, "if we don't reach that tomb by sunset, we'll be trapped here forever!"

"You don't have to remind me," said Seto, "And…looks like someone needs some air." He pointed toward Yami's capsule belt. Kuriboh was whining.

"What is it Kuriboh?" asked Yami, summoning his faithful fuzzball. Kuriboh bounced around pointing upward.

"Look, up there!" Seto pointed. A lone capsule was on the ledge.

Out of nowhere, there was a grumbling sound. 

"We have bigger problems than that capsule, Kaiba," said Yami, "The walls are closing in on us!"

"…Great…" Seto muttered, "Just great…"

* * *

"I can't do this anymore!" Joey was balancing on one leg, "I'm going down!" Tottering back and forth, he fell over.

Tristan also stopped mimicking his statue, "So much for that."

The doorway into the fortress came crashing down into the ground, sealing the entranceway. Each of the statues' eyes began to glow as they came to life.

"Oh no," said Tea, as the demon advanced on her, "This isn't good."

Hermione backed away as the colossal soldier drew his sword. Shaking, she summoned her only defense. Reaching into the jacket of her suit, she pulled out her wand. Aiming it at the statue, she cried the first spell that entered her mind, "_Reducto_!" Her wand sparked and then did nothing. _I should have guessed_, she thought, _Yami's ability to have his own body isn't working. There's some kind of enchantment preventing most magic from working. I hope Seto and Yugi hurry_. 

"These monsters are too strong!" Tristan watched as Thunder Kid was punted into the air. "Argh! That hurt!"

"Maybe you should find a new capsule. That monster's the weakest thing among us," said Joey.

"Thanks for your words of wisdom, Joey, butI don't _have_ another one to use!"

"Hurry up, Yugi!" Tea said, dodging a blow.

* * *

Brisbane wandered through the forest, "Where could those kids be?" He looked down at his capsule belt. He had collected Pitch Dark Dragon and Dark Blade. Coming across a clearing with very little grass, plenty of boulders and plenty of crows, he noticed far off in the distance a fortress on the top of the hill. _Worth a shot…_

* * *

The walls continued to slide towards each other. Seto was looking up at the ledge the capsule was sitting on, "If we can get up there, the walls won't turn us into pancakes."

"I figured that much, but how?"

"How else? Take a running leap."

Yami gave Seto a skeptical look, "Have you forgotten, Kaiba, I'm not quite as tall as you…"

"Then I'll give you a leg up," said Seto, "sometime this century would be nice."

_Same old Kaiba…_Yami walked over to Kaiba, who knelt down. Given the height boost, Yami was able to reach the ledge. When he was clear, Seto leapt up and grabbed the edge. Yami helped him up and touched the capsule at the same time. 

It made a chain reaction. The capsule sent Seto, Yugi, the capsule, and Kuriboh out of the fortress, out of harms way, and into the air. Yami and Seto were floating in the air. 

The capsule dissolved into a flash of light.

Yami's eyes widened, "Dark Magician!" 

The magician pointed down at the fortress.

"Our friends are in trouble!" Yami cried.

Yugi came out of the puzzle in spirit form, "We need to help them."

"Agreed," said the Pharaoh, "Go Magical Crossroads! Magical crossroads will eradicate each monster that falls within the crisscross of light!"

The glowing magic from Dark Magician's staff hit each stone monster head on, shattering them. As the Dark Magician took the two rivals down to the fortress and disappeared back inside his capsule, the walls around the fortress disappeared.

"Woah, Yug'!" exclaimed Joey, "where'd you come from?"

"Never mind that," said Yami, "We need to locate the place where the spirit sleeps before the sun sets!"

"Hello there!" called a voice. Everyone turned. Alex Brisbane was running up the steps toward them.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" asked Hermione, "I thought you were waiting out in the pyramid!"

"I felt terrible!" said Brisbane, "my companion came out almost just after you went inside! You were in here for nothing, and I felt so upset about it all, I came in here after you, to tell you to end your search and look for the way out. I've been searching for a while now, and saw you fighting statues from the graveyard. I'm just happy I found you."

"Well, we can save the chatter for later," said Tristan, "the sun is almost set!"

Together, the seven of them raced inside, eager to find the way home.

* * *

Well, that's all. My third year anniversary to fanfiction was on March 5, so I guess this is my anniversary present to you all!

Happy reviewing…unless you don't like reviewing…then until next time!

Monsters thus far:

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon  
Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian

Brisbane: Pitch Dark Dragon, Dark Blade


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back, everyone! This took _so_ long to type up and prepare. I'm trying to get the Capsule Monsters thing over with. It's not that I don't like Capsule Monsters; only I don't really want this fanfic to have gazillion-and-one chapters to it and this part is a bit longer than I had anticipated. Hopefully the Doc. editor is nice to me and correctly saved all of my formatting stuff. If something is horribly wrong or is just plain weird, please let me know.

If you're ready to tag along for the ride, let's get to it then!

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. As this is the ninth chapter, you don't really need a reminder to who owns this stuff.

* * *

Monsters from the previous chapter:

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover

* * *

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

/Blah/ is spirit to host

* * *

Chapter 9

Voldemort fingered the broken fragment of his Item. _Once it is repaired, I'll bring the Ministry to it's knees and be rid of Gozaboro. This war has only just begun…_

* * *

Gozaboro sat at a desk, drumming his fingers along the surface. A small golden cylindrical mass was on the surface. Alex Brisbane hadn't reported in, so he figured the man must have entered the map. _Everything is going according to plan_, he thought, _once I finish repairing old Voldie's Millennium Item, I'll keep it for myself and rid myself of that fool. When I become the next Dark Lord, no one will be able to stop me…but until then, I have something else to deal with. Once Brisbane reports in, it'll be time I revealed who was pulling his strings._

* * *

Harry and Ron were outside de-gnoming the garden. After nursing a bitten finger (the same finger that was bitten the last time Harry participating in de-gnoming), the yard was creature-free. The two friends then went inside for something to eat.

"Any news, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Harry, "any more deaths?"

"There hasn't been a _Prophet_ since yesterday, dear. I'm sure the post will be along soon. Ah! Speaking of which, here's Errol now," said Mrs. Weasley, "My, he looks weary…"  
Mrs. Weasley quickly relieved the owl of its burden; "Here's something for Ginny, a parcel from Muriel, and Ronald! You have a letter!" She left Ron's note on the table in the kitchen.

Ron came inside and took his letter. He recognized Ryou's handwriting. Harry stood behind him and read over his shoulder.

_Dear Ron,_

_I'm sure Harry is staying with you over holiday; so let him read this as well. Very suspicious things are going on near home (Domino City, I mean, and my other half has nothing to do with it for a change). I realize that Seto, Yugi, and the others are MIA at the moment, but I think that Voldemort is one step ahead of them. This news clipping from Elite Dueling should give some insight. I know Harry knows some bits of Duel Monsters from his cousin, but here's some info for you, Ron. _Elite Dueling_ magazine is about Duel Monsters, not wizard duels. It's pretty much the main magazine for announcing tournaments, releases of new Duel Monsters cards, and the newest 'gossip' on famous dueling powerhouses like Yugi and Kaiba._

_I hope you are well, and be safe._

_Ryou_

_PS. In his usual maniacal way, the Thief King says hello._

"Where's that news clipping?" asked Ron, turning the envelope inside out. A cutout from a magazine fell onto the floor. "Amazing, so this is part of a Muggle magazine. Pretty cool, but the pictures need to move."

The unmoving photo showed a massive skyscraper with patrol and ambulance vehicles in the parking lot. Harry pointed to the headline: _Suspicious Deaths within KaibaCorp._

* * *

"Look, over there!" Brisbane pointed across the room, "That must be the coffin thing we need to find before the sun sets!"

"If you came to find us right away, how did you know we needed to find a coffin?" asked Tea.

"My colleague told me, miss…"

"Tea."

"Tea. Besides, I'm an archeologist. I know how to read the stone slabs."

"Oh, that's cool."

Joey and Tristan were the first to reach the tomb 'where the spirit slept'. Bracing themselves against the floor, they managed to knock the top off of the coffin just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

"We did it!"

A ball of light flew out of the empty coffin and at the same time, a stone slab rose from the tiled floor. The beam of light remained in the air as hieroglyphics spelled across the stone.

"Great, another riddle!" exclaimed Joey, "I'm ready to get out of here, so what does it say?"

"Hmm," Alex Brisbane took a step forward toward the riddle and read it aloud.

"_Pass through this doorway and thy journey shall start._

_Six trials will follow to test thy heart_

_But I warn you; this journey is not for the weak_

_Only true warriors can unearth what you seek."_

"Six trials! I thought this was the ticket out of here!" Tristan pounded his fist into his open palm, "Now it'll take even longer to get home!"

"From what my friend told me, after we pass these trials, we can leave."

The mysterious ball of light transformed itself into armor. Golden chest armor attached itself onto Yugi, and a sword's sheath fastened itself to Seto's belt. A moment later, a silver sword appeared in its case. A silver glove appeared on his right hand.

"Well that was weird," said Joey, "Hey riddle! Got some neat gifts for me too?"

"Apparently you're not worthy, Wheeler, though that doesn't seem to surprise me…"

"Shut up, Kaiba!"

Yugi looked down at himself, "This thing is huge on me!"

"I guess it is 'one size fits all'," said Tea, "Though it is quite the fashion statement."

"Very funny, but I'm not a warrior! I'm not even five foot four!"

"The riddle does speak of a warrior, so someone…or more must be wearing some type of armor to pass through to the challenges," said Brisbane.

The stone depicting the riddle dissolved away into a blinding white doorway. It was impossible to see what was on the other side.

"I guess that's where we go through then," said Hermione.

"Then let's do this!" Joey felt a surge of bravery as he headed toward the light, and then stopped. "Yug'…you've got the most armor, so you can go first!"

"Real brave Joey…"

* * *

The mysterious doorway led them to the middle of a vast desert. A small breeze blew sand about their faces.

"From the forest, this is one of the last places I would have expected to turn up in," said Tristan, "Nothing but sand! How do we get out of this one?"

"I don't know," said Brisbane, "This is very interesting."

"I thought your buddy told you how to get through this game," said Tea.

"According to my colleague, after leaving the Fortress of Fear he was sent to a mysterious town where the people were suffering from a tyrannical rule. It was his job to somehow end the peoples' suffering."

"Oh, so we're on our own now," Joey frowned, "Great…"

Brisbane sighed. _Good thing these fools believe my story. I haven't the slightest idea how to get out of here. Conveniently, Master left me no specific instructions on how to escape this place, he only told me to contact him once I returned._

"Look!" Yugi pointed far off in the distance, "Either it's a mirage or there's civilization here!"

"We might as well check it out," said Tristan, "If there are people here, they must know what to do."

"Well, let's go then!" Joey sprang up and dashed off, "Last one's a rotten éclair!"

"Be careful Joey, you don't know what's out there!" Yugi called, but then moments later, Joey disappeared into the sand, "Joey!"

By the time the others reached where Joey vanished, they saw that he had merely lost his footing in the dirt and fell down a mound of sand.

"Looks like Joey bit the dust," Tea giggled.

"Ehh…more like I bit the sand…" Joey spit sound from his mouth, "Blegh!"

"The good thing is that now we're at the village," said Alex, "But I don't see anyone."

"We can still check it out," said Yugi, "Come on."

Wandering through the small village, Joey saw that the few people there remained in their tent-like homes, refusing to go outside and greet the newcomers.

"Now very hospitable, these folk," said Joey, "No welcoming committee." He then nearly plowed into a young girl standing right in front of him. "Oh, hello."

"Dude, I think she's the welcoming committee," Tristan whispered.

"Welcome travelers," said the girl, "We've been expecting you."

"You have? How did you know we were coming?" asked Hermione.

"Follow me, and you'll find out," she said.

The girl led them into a large tent on the edge of the small village. Inside was an old man sitting on a pile of cushions. More pillows were scattered around in a semi circle around him. Everyone sat down as the girl whispered something to the old man; he nodded and then held out his arms.

In a fiery blue light, a tattered scroll appeared in his hands. He gave it to the girl who then handed it off to Yugi.

Yugi opened it. It was another riddle encrypted in hieroglyphics. Alex peered around Yugi's hair to decipher the message.

"_Silence the whisper that rides the desert winds_," he read, "Somehow that doesn't seem too difficult."

Then, the wind picked up, and a high-pitched, eerie voice echoed throughout the tent, "_Turn back!_"

"So, any tips?" asked Joey, "Hints, cheats, anything?"

"As we learned from our last visitors, the answer lies in the eye of the storm," said the girl.

"Last visitors?" asked Hermione, "There were others before us?"

"One person passed through here. That was a _long_, long time ago. Someone else passed through as well, but it wasn't that long ago. In fact, he looked a bit like him," she pointed at Alex.

"Me!?" Alex was dumbstruck, "I've never been here before in my life!"

"Well, thanks for your help," said Yugi, getting up, "We should figure out how to defeat this weird voice."

As everyone got up, the girl reached out and touched Hermione's arm. "You will need this," she said. The girl took off her pendant, which was hexagonal in shape, and clasped it around Hermione's neck. The hexagon was split into six even sections.

"Thank you," Hermione looked down at the necklace, "What is it?"

"It will become clear when the time is right."

Hermione nodded and joined the others outside. The wind continued to get stronger.

"So what do you think we have to do?" asked Yugi, "I don't hear this voice we're supposed to get rid of."

"_Leave now!"_

"Well, there's your voice…"

The wind continued to blow, and the ground began to shake. A large worm emerged from the desert floor, spitting worm goop everywhere. As the wind intensified, the sand flew about, blocking the group from seeing each other, as well as the multiple worms emerging from the ground firing gunk at them.

Summoning their monsters, one by one, the worms were destroyed.

In the shadow of the sand, Joey saw a strange figure in the distance. _I bet that's a worm!_ "Go, Flame Swordsman! Take him out!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the dust, Tristan saw a shadow and ordered Thunder Kid to attack. Flame Swordsman grazed Thunder Kid's shoulder and Thunder Kid jolted Joey's swordsman.

"Tristan! What the heck are you tryin' to do?"

"I thought you were the enemy!"

"Me!? What are you, nuts!?"

"Stop attacking strange shadows before we all get killed!" said Alex, using Dark Blade to destroy the worm directly in front of him.

A worm, sneaking behind Joey, spit its gunk at Flame Swordsman. The hit was direct, and the mysterious substance began spreading around the capsule monster, transforming it into stone. Without his monster to protect him, Joey was also hit before he could summon another monster. The blast struck his sneakers and spread up his legs.

"Nyeh! It barfed on me!"

"Don't feel bad, man! It got me too!" Tristan said, as the goop spread from his arms.

Tea, Hermione and Alex were hit at their capsule shooters, as they slowly turned to stone.

"_You'll never defeat me, Pharaoh! The sand shall swallow you whole!"_

"You know," said Seto, ducking to avoid being slobbered upon, "That voice is really starting to tick me off. Let's get this over with."

"I'm with you," said Yami, "But we don't know where to go!"

"The girl said the answer lies in the eye of the storm. The way the wind is tossing about, I'd say we're in some sort of tornado. We need to find the center. Blue Eyes, point us in the right direction!"

The baby dragon flew through the sand-filled air and returned moments later, nudging her master in a direction to the left.

"_You'll never find me!_"

"Keep telling yourself that…" Seto muttered.

Soon after following Blue Eyes, Yugi and Seto were surrounded by the worms.

"Any ideas?"

Yami glanced at his companion, "None. This armor must be used for something; why else would we have it?"

**/Maybe we have to merge it with a monster, Pharaoh. What if the key to the armor is to combine it with our capsule monsters to create an even more powerful weapon…/**

/You may be on to something, Yugi, but how do I do it?/

**/Maybe it's like activating a duel-disk?/**

/I turn on our duel-disk with the touch of a button, and there are no buttons on this armor, Yugi/

**/Say it aloud then, Yami/**

"Here goes nothing," Yami muttered, "Activate Duel Armor!"

Seto glanced at Yami. _What is he doing?_

The duel armor gave a bright white glow, and the Dark Magician was sucked inside. When the light faded, Yugi and the Dark Magician had combined.

"You know, you look even more ridiculous with the new costume than the armor alone…"

"Try merging with your armor, Kaiba. It may be the only way to defeat these beasts and save our friends before they're turned to statues forever!"

"Unlike you, Yugi," Seto began, dodging a blast of worm goop, "The only armor I possess is a glove and a sword. Plus, the only monster I have is Blue Eyes Baby Dragon."

"Are you backing down from making yourself stronger, Kaiba?" Yami smirked, "So unlike you."

Seto scowled at Yami, but then drew his sword and touched it against the scales of his dragon. A bright white light emerged from the sword and traveled to the glove. Baby Blue Eyes disappeared into the sword. When the light vanished, the silver sword was now longer and a blue-ish white color. The silver glove was now the same tint as the sword.

"Come on, Kaiba. Time to finish this and leave," said Yami. The two headed off in the direction of the voice, but soon were surrounded by four of the giant worms. Using the sword, Seto was able to destroy the nearest obstacle. What he didn't count on, was for two others to attack him at once while he was distracted.

"Kaiba! Look out!" Yami cried, but he knew Seto was done for.

Seto put his gloved hand in front his face as a shield to brace himself for a hit, but he wasn't struck.

Dumbfounded to what had happened, Seto removed his hand from over his eyes. Yami just stood there in the dust storm, grinning at him.

"What happened?"

"Your glove is what happened, Kaiba. The attack hit your glove and rebounded, destroying the worms. Now the only thing in our way is the stupid voice, which I think is in that direction over there."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Seto and Yami found the center of the dusty twister. High up in the calm center was a witch, sitting high up on her broom. Upon seeing the two warriors, she frowned.

"So, you're the whispering voice!" Yami exclaimed.

"You will not make it out, Pharaoh! You will remain here, frozen in stone forever as my trophy, as well as your friends."

"I don't think so," Seto glared up at the witch.

Yami twirled his magician's staff, "You're time is up!" Yami flew up toward the witch.

The witch, however, had other plans. Using her magic, she summoned large stone creatures to defend herself. The flying stone statues targeted Yami while those who couldn't set their sights on Seto.

/These stone creatures aren't quitting Pharaoh! There must be some way to defeat them./

/Well, Yugi, if we continue to fight as we are now, we'll lose too much energy and we can't let that happen. I can feel this armor draining me of power. We can't let this trial beat us!/

While Yami was talking to Yugi in their link, he wasn't completely aware of the witch moving about behind him. Chanting an incantation, she summoned a large hand, which reached out to grab Yami.

The Pharaoh flew out of the way, and twirling his staff around quickly, sent a surge of dark magic toward the new enemy, shattering it. The witch scowled, disgusted that her minions were failing. Sending more attacks to Yami, she failed to notice Seto destroyed the last sand warrior on the ground.

After the last warrior was destroyed, Seto watched Yami twirl about in the air. While catching his breath, he noticed he had a clear shot at the witch. He angled his sword and prepared to fling it at her, but the witch saw him at the last possible second. At the same time he let go of the weapon, she summoned a creature behind him.

Seto watched his aim head toward its target, unaware a stone soldier at least a head taller than he was right behind him. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and all went dark.

The witch couldn't move fast enough to escape the sword. It drove right through her chest. With a screech of pain, she disappeared in a burst of light, the sand storm vanishing with her.

Yami picked up the sword, stuck in a pile of sand, and looked for its owner.

"Kaiba!"

Seto blearily opened his eyes a few moments later, pain shooting through his head.

"Ugh…" he accepted Yami's offering hand and pulled himself to his feet. Squinting from the exceptionally bright sun, he brushed the sand and dirt from his black clothes. "What happened?"

"Your aim was good, Kaiba," said Yami, "You hit the witch dead on. However, one of her minions got you before you could see how well your shot was. Are you alright?"

"Aside from the massive headache, slight dizziness, and that the sun is probably burning my retinas, fine."

Yugi regained control, "Good, now let's finish this and go home."

* * *

Yugi and Seto found the others un-frozen, looking wildly about.

"Where'd the worms go?" asked Joey, "I didn't finish killin' 'em yet!"

"Joey, I would think you would have been glad you weren't slobbered on by worms anymore," said Tea, "Yugi! Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know," said Yugi, grinning, "Got to save the world from somebody…"

"You alright?" asked Alex. He grabbed Seto's upper arm before the tall teen fell over.

"Fine."

Hermione stared at Seto, not believing he was 'fine'. Her attention a moment afterwards was drawn to the pendant the girl gave her. One of the six sections lit up in a navy blue color. "Look, one of the parts lit up!"

"I wonder…," said Alex, "Remember that riddle in the fortress? We had six trials to complete. What if this pendant is a record of the tests we've passed? As we finish each one, part of this jewel glows!"

"Sounds good to me," said Joey, "Let's blow this popsicle stand!"

A new bright light (this one white) appeared in the shape of a doorway. Everyone had to shield their eyes, yet again to avoid blindness. Yugi, being the ever-so brave hero, took the first step toward the opening.

If the gang thought the desert was too bright, they were in for it…

As it turned out, the area on the other side of the doorway was at least five times brighter than the doorway's light _and _the desert combined.

"Look at this!" Tristan exclaimed, "It's like we're on a floating island above the clouds!"

Yugi shielded his eyes from the light, but something came over him; as if the energy of his body suddenly began to quickly slip away. Falling to his knees, Yugi began to breathe heavily.

Tea dropped beside him, "What is it, Yugi?"

Yugi turned to look at his best friend, "I don't know. I just feel weak all of a sudden!"

"Out of nowhere?"

"Yea, it's probably from this duel armor. I activated it to defeat the witch."

"Witch?"

"The witch was in the eye of the storm. She was the voice in the wind."

"Hey, Yug'," Joey began, "You don't look so good. C'mon, let's get you in some shade." A cave was nearby, so the gang took refuge from the sun there.

Yugi sat against the wall of the cave and closed his eyes, "Ah, it's at least cool and dark in here. I could use a nap."

"You should sit this challenge – whatever it may be, out, Yugi. I don't think you look up to working this one out," said Hermione, "And you, Seto."

Seto shook his head, "I'm fine." As he said this, pain shot throughout the back of his head, and he closed his eyes and silently winced.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Don't lie to me, just look at you, you can barely stand! There's no way you're going to go out there and brave who-knows-what at the risk of getting worse!"

Joey and Tristan glanced at each other and snickered behind their hands. After all, it wasn't every day that the one person you consider to be the biggest jerk is being told off – by a girl no less. However the murderous glare from Seto's direction silenced them. Joey twiddled his thumbs and stared at the ceiling of the cave, while Tristan looked away and whistled softly.

Seto could tell from the look Hermione was giving him, that he was losing this fight. Though he didn't often lose, Seto sat down on the cave floor, accepting defeat. However, as soon as he had sat down, he sprang back up, a scroll in his hands.

"Here," he flung the scroll at Brisbane and sat down next to Yugi, who was lying on his jacket, napping. "Have a blast." Seto leaned against the wall of the cave, and closed his eyes.

Everyone, minus Yugi and Seto, went out into the blinding sunlight to read the scroll.

"It's the next challenge," said Brisbane,

"_The Trial of Light and Shadows_

_Once a day, an unbreakable stone appears in the valley of light._

_To achieve the impossible,_

_Fight with a power that is greater than physical might."_

"Okay, seems like we have quite the challenge ahead," said Tristan.

Simultaneously, both Tea and Hermione glanced back into the cave, where Yugi and Seto were resting from their last big adventure.

"You're worried about them, aren't you?" asked Joey, "Why don't you two keep an eye on 'em while we work out this riddle?"

"You really mean that, Joey?" asked Tea.

"Good luck, guys," said Hermione.

"Please," Joey grinned, "With me leadin' this team, we don't need luck!"

"No," said a tired voice from inside the cave, "You just need prayers, and plenty of them."

Joey scowled, "Very funny, Kaiba! Very funny…."

* * *

Wandering carefully around the mysterious floating island, the boys found a valley on the island.

"This can't be the valley!" said Tristan, frowning, "This is supposed to be the valley of light, and I can barely see ten feet in front of me! It's way too dark!"

"Well, this is the only valley for miles, Tristan, this has to be it!"

"There must have been something we overlooked in the riddle."

It was then when the sun came overhead, shining right into the valley. The once dark area was now as bright as the rest of the sky.

Joey nodded, "Okay, we're in the valley. Now where's this 'unbreakable stone?"

* * *

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover

Well, that's all. I was going to finish the third trial before adding it, but I got tired of this extremely long document. I am trying to work on this story as much as possible, because it's going to be so, so huge. It'll probably take another year or so to finish, but I hope not. You can leave your questions, comments, complaints, blackmail, praise, empty threats, flames and other such things with the small purple secretary below. He's very good at filing. Soon, he'll be answering the phone and demanding a paycheck…


	10. Chapter 10

Ello everyone! Here's the next installment. Now that graduation is over and college in the future, I have the summer to make a good dent in my recent lack of updates. Hopefully, I'm able to make some progress…somewhere…somehow…

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. By now, I would think you know who does…

**/Blah/ **is host to spirit

/Blah/ is spirit to host

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tristan: Thunder Kid

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover

* * *

Chapter 10

"Did the dispatch find Seto yet?" asked Mokuba. He was sitting at Seto's desk at Kaiba Corp; a take-out from Burger World was on the desk, along with three phones and a laptop.

Roland took a sip from his soda, "They said they would radio in when the storms on the island improved. It's too dangerous at the moment and they're taking shelter."

"Oh…"

"Jameston said that the phone Mr. Kaiba called from was owned by someone called 'Gardner.' Do you know anyone by that name?"

"You mean Tea? Yea, I know her. You remember Tea, Roland. She was one of Yugi's friends on the Battle City trip."

"Oh…yes. I vaguely remember her begging to be allowed on the blimp…"

"Well that means Seto's not alone out there. Wherever he is, Tea's with him!"

"Unless, she died and he used her phone," Roland took a bite from his chicken sandwich.

Mokuba threw a fry at him, "I was trying to think positive, Roland! Positive thinking only!!"

"Sorry…" Roland was going through a department report, when he suddenly he put his soda back on Seto's desk, "Well. This is certainly interesting."

"What is it?" asked Mokuba.

"Apparently, some of the parts to the new dueling system are missing. According to this report, tens of thousands of dollars worth of technology has mysteriously disappeared."

"How could that be?" asked Mokuba, "that stuff is kept under lock and key!"

"It means employees are stealing from the storage areas."

"Only those who work on creating the duel-disks and those who work on updating the systems have access. That's most of the tech department."

Mokuba groaned, "Aw man! The tech department is huge! It'll take forever to go through everyone!"

* * *

Marik flopped down onto the couch in his house in Domino. Ishizu and Odion were checking up on the Egyptian Exhibit in the museum, so he was 'instructed' to unpack his stuff or find something worthwhile to do. So, the young wizard pulled out the Millennium Rod and set it next to him. A moment or so later, Set appeared in spirit form.

"You think they're ok?" asked the priest.

"Who do you mean, Odion and Ishizu or Yugi and the others?"

"Well, I was referring to Seto and the others, but both."

"Well, I'm worried. Stupid Voldemoldy's been pretty quiet and stuff…too quiet. Like something's gonna happen real soon. As for Yugi and the others, Yugi's been through so much he can pretty much weasel his way out of anything. He's overcome Pegasus's Millennium Eye, helped me defeat my darker half, got rid of Dartz and stood up to who-knows how many Death Eaters."

Marik could tell Set was still worried so he added, "Besides, I heard that a rescue team was sent out to where the plane crashed. They'll be back in no time at all!"

* * *

"So where's this unbreakable stone?" asked Joey, squinting from the sun's light.

Tristan pointed over to the left, "it's right there."

"So now what do we do?"

"Destroy it of course," said Alex. "That _is_ what the riddle told us to do."

At that moment, a small glass-like figure materialized in front of the stone.

"Puny little thing, isn't he?" asked Tristan, smirking.

"Well, now he's gonna be even punier than ever!" Joey laughed, summoning his Flame Swordsman. Tristan also summoned his Thunder Kid and they both launched an attack.

"Oh yea!" Tristan and Joey slapped a high-5. "That runt is down!"

"Let's hope so," said Alex.

"Well, never hurt to make sure!" said Joey, and running with Flame Swordsman, he commanded his attack, "Charge!!"

"Joey, wait!" cried Alex, "Slow down!"

"Ah, quit your worryin'! I've got this taken care of!"said Joey, "Now, Flame Swordsman! Finish him off!"

Tristan slapped his forehead, "Kinda hard to do with you in the way!"

Joey's eyes bugged out, "…Good point..."

Tristan sighed, "Only you could screw this up…come _on_, he's made of glass!"

The little glass creature then grabbed Joey's shoulders.

"Nyeh! Take that!" Joey punched its jaw. With a victory whoop, he ran back to the others. "Did you see…I cracked his jaw!"

Tristan didn't seem impressed, "So?"

"I weakened him!"

"Whatever. Let me show you how it's really done," Tristan said, moving forward, but Joey stopped him.

"Oh no you don't! This one's mine!"

"We already saw what you could do, Joey. Now let a real man take over."

Joey glared, "So I do the work and you come and steal all the glory!"

"You call blocking your attack work?"

"You're on the same side!" cried Alex, "Act like it!"

Joey released Tristan from a headlock, "Okay, okay."

"Ready?" asked Tristan, "On three!"

"_Three!"_

However, before the monsters could attack, the sun was now shining right into their eyes.

"The sun is too strong," said Alex, "It's hard to see now!"

The creature then started to glow. A beam of light then came from the center of its body and was fired at the group.

"I should have guessed this!" exclaimed Alex as they ran for cover, "That creature is able to absorb the sun's rays and turn them into a laser beam! And since we're above the clouds, the sun's rays are even stronger!"

Joey grimaced, "Oh man! What's our back-up plan?"

The creature then destroyed the boulder they were hiding behind.

Splitting up, the monster fired at Tristan and Thunder Kid, who were standing at the stone. It nearly hit them but…

"Oh man!" said Tristan, "That blast could have hurt me. Good thing it put a crack in the _unbreakable _stone…_WAIT! _It put a crack in the stone! Joey!"

"What! A little busy here!"

"I need you to do something. Take your finger and put it under your eye…then pull down."

"Like this?"

"Thanks! Now you're officially a distraction!"

Before Joey knew what was happening, he and Alex were being chased by light blasts of all sizes.

Up at the stone, Tristan and Thunder Kid were using the cracks that the glass creature had set in the stone to make one big crack. However, it wasn't working too well.

"Joey! I'll take it from here!" Tristan waited to get the creature's attention. "Hey, chandelier boy! Let's see how good your aim is!" By taunting the monster, Tristan was able to get some more holes and cracks in the stone.

"Is that all you got? C'mon!"

By standing in front of the first crack, Tristan was slowly getting a bigger and bigger hole in the unbreakable stone.

"What does he think he's doin'?" said Joey.

"One hit and he's done for!" exclaimed Alex.

* * *

Yugi and Seto were still resting in the cave. Tea was sitting by the entrance of the cave, looking out at the clouds around her. A moment later, Hermione came out, and sat beside her.

"Did they wake up yet?" asked Tea.

The witch shook her head, "No. Yugi's still asleep, and Seto hasn't moved since the guys left."

"I don't mean to pry or anything, but are you alright? You seem a little spaced from everyone."

Hermione nodded, "It's a multitude of things. My parents were murdered…" Saying this brought tears back to her eyes, "…I'm most likely at the top of Draco Malfoy's hit list, I left all my friends behind in England, my best friend is wanted by a tyrannical wizard bent on nothing but destruction, and now I'm stuck in a crazy game where I may never get out again, and all hope lies in this pendant."

Tea gave her a sympathetic hug, "I'm so sorry about your parents." After a moment's pause, "Why did you leave your friends behind though?"

"The Death Eaters – the bad guys – were able to get past all of the precautionary security set up for my parents, and they were still murdered, most likely because of my friendship to Harry Potter. I don't feel safe there. Even Hogwarts – the safest place for me – wasn't able to keep Death Eaters out."

"Harry Potter…didn't we meet him over Christmas break?"

"Yea, he and I were staying at the Kaiba Manor."

"So where are you going to live?"

"Well, I'm going back to Japan with Seto, so I guess you could say I'm moving in with him. In the fall I'll attend Domino High to keep up the appearance of a foreign exchange student."

"You're moving in with Kaiba? I didn't think he was that compassionate." Tea leaned back against the outer wall of the cave.

"Well, we've both been through a lot together," Hermione twiddled her wand between her fingers. "He saved me from Malfoy twice – both times Malfoy was trying to kill me."

"Hermione, why is this Malfoy guy trying to kill you?"

"I'm still not sure. His father works for Voldemort, and I guess as a way to initiate Malfoy among the Death Eaters, he has to kill a Muggleborn."

"Muggleborn?"

"A Muggleborn, or as they call us, Mudblood, is someone with non-magic parents. My parents were both dentists, not a shred of magic in them."

"Why'd he pick you though?"

"Well, in Hogwarts, I was the top student in our year, putting him at number two. I guess second best to a Muggleborn isn't acceptable in his house. This year though, Yugi, Seto, Ryou and Marik were all considered Muggleborn, even though of the links back to Ancient Egypt. Seto is extremely gifted and smart, and he knocked Malfoy even farther down to third."

"…Oh, I see. I guess you came from a funeral by the way you're dressed."

Hermione glanced down at her black suit and nodded, "Seto went with me, in case something was to happen. Thankfully, it was a peaceful ceremony. It seems almost unreal that I'll be spending more than vacation time in Domino, but at least I'll have friends there. Hopefully Death Eaters aren't following us back, and Voldemort's defeated soon."

"So are you and Seto…together?" asked Tea, glancing back at the cave. When Hermione nodded, Tea smiled, "Well, welcome to the club, Hermione," said Tea, getting up, "When we get to Domino you can meet Duke, Mai, and Serenity if she's there. Duke owns a game shop by Yugi's place, Mai's out of school and she pops around from time to time, and Serenity is Joey's little sister. We're all one big family of friends. When you throw the four of us (me, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi) with Ryou, Marik, and Duke, Mai and Serenity, you get friendly chaos."

"Sounds wonderful," Hermione smiled.

"Well, if there's anything you need once we get to Domino, you let me know," Tea smiled, "Let's go check on the guys."

Hermione followed Tea back into the cave. Yugi was still fast asleep. Tea put her hand on Yugi's forehead to make sure he wasn't ill. She then noticed the bandages on Seto's right hand.

"What happened to his hand?"

"It was a cursed quill," Hermione explained, "one of the professors at Hogwarts, Professor Umbridge, would make students write lines for detention. But she made them use her special quill. When you use it, the message is written on the parchment – without ink- in your blood. And then, the same message is cut into the back of your hand. The more you use it, the worse your hand gets. They're called Blood Quills. Eventually your hand would heal once everything was over, but his hasn't healed at all. It keeps opening up in blood every now and then."

Tea was shocked, "They allow this at Hogwarts?"

"No, but as the High Inquisitor, if anyone stood up to her, she would make sure that they were either punished, or fired. It didn't help much that she admitted to being a Death Eater."

"My goodness…how long was the detentions?"

"As long as she kept you there…Seto's first one was from around six – right during dinner – until at least three that morning. I never saw him come back into the common room, it was so late. Even Ron and Marik, who sometimes stay up late to get their essays done, were asleep before he got back."

At that moment, Seto groaned and blearily opened his eyes. Wincing, he sat up against the wall of the cave.

"Have a nice nap?" asked Hermione, sitting beside him.

"Peachy…" Seto rubbed the back of his head, feeling the bruise the monster in the last challenge delivered to him.

"Hey – the guys left in such a hurry, they left the instructions behind!" Tea went outside to retrieve the scroll. Seto followed her out of the cave to take a look at it.

"Can you read it, Kaiba?" she handed off the scroll.

Seto took a look. It was written in hieroglyphics, like the other riddles, but he felt able to read this. _It must be because of my relation with the past_, he thought. _Just like how I was able to read the text on the Winged Dragon of Ra card._ "Yes, I can read it.

"_The Trial of Light and Shadows_

_Once a day, an unbreakable stone appears in the valley of light._

_To achieve the impossible,_

_Fight with a power that is greater than physical might."_

"Something's not right though…" Seto frowned, "This is only half of the riddle."

"Half?" asked Tea, "But this is the only scroll! Where's the other part of the riddle?"

"Light and shadow…" Seto said aloud, "Light and – that's it. The rest has to be read in the dark."

"The dark, but why?"

"It's called the light _and_ shadows trial, but it only speaks of the light. If we take this into the _shadow_, the shadow part of the clue should appear." Seto took the scroll into the cave.

Yugi was waking up. "Hey guys. Is that the riddle?" he asked.

"Uh huh," said Tea, "the others went off to solve it, but they only got part of the instructions."

When Seto opened the scroll in the dark, new hieroglyphics were lit in a bright green glow.

"So, what's it say?" asked Hermione.

Seto scanned the text, "Great…the others are doomed. If Wheeler screws it up…c'mon."

* * *

The glass creature was still trying to get rid of Tristan, who's last insult was "I hear your gran was a china cabinet". However, one of the light blasts was a little too close and it grazed Thunder Kid's shoulder.

Tristan gasped in pain, but looked at the unbreakable stone. It was time. The hole was big enough to destroy the entire rock.

"Hey Joey!" he called, "Be a distraction for me!"

"What! No, are you nuts!"

"Oh come on! Help a guy out!"

Joey grumbled, but started teasing the creature, "Nyeh nah neh nah nah!" He immediately took off to avoid the next round of fire.

Tristan meanwhile, turned to face the stone, "Okay Thunder Kid, let's do this! Attack the stone!" The monster's round of electricity was strong enough to take the already-fractured rock and completely demolish it.

The glass creature stopped its attack and began jumping up and down in a frustrated manner.

"Hey, good job, Tristan. You broke the rock!"

"Amazing. He had the creature crack the rock so he could use Thunder Kid to destroy it. Brilliant!" said Alex.

Tristan grinned, "Thanks – don't forget talented and charming!"

"Not to mention funny. But hey – looks aren't everything, eh Tristan?"

"Watch it Wheeler!"

"Nyeh hah ha hah!" They then noticed the creature's peculiar attitude.

Joey grinned, "Looks like our buddy's got his glass undies in a bunch. Let's put him outta his misery!"

Hiding behind a slab, Joey and Tristan charged up to the monster. The glass critter attacked the slab, but wasn't able to destroy it.

"Two good ideas in one day. That's a new personal record for you Tristan! Now Flame Swordsman, sick em!"

With the creature destroyed, Joey pumped a fist, "Alright! We passed the test!"

Just then, the rubble from the unbreakable stone started to move, and a new monster rose from the rocks.

The other four were descending down into the Valley of Light.

"According to the riddle," said Seto, "Once the creature of light is destroyed, a new more dangerous creature is born."

"We have to find the others before it's too late!" cried Tea.

"It's too late. Look!" Hermione pointed down where the new monster was standing. Then they hurried to catch up with the others.

* * *

"Hey! What's the deal!" said Tristan, "I thought we cleared this challenge!"

"Obviously we were wrong," said Alex. The creature raised its two swords and began to attack. The three boys were able to block the monster, but barely.

"He's too strong for our monsters!" said Joey.

The others finally reached the bottom.

"They're in trouble," said Yugi, "Loading capsule. Come on, Dark Magician!"

Loading his favorite monster, Yugi activated his Duel Armor to battle the creature, while also letting Yami take control

Battling the monster seemed to look like a draw.

**/Yami, he's the same as us. We must be equal in strength!/**

/Perhaps we should try dark magic…/

"Go Dark Magic Attack!" The light from Yugi's scepter seemed to work. The monster knelt down in front of the remains of the unbreakable stone and then didn't move. A chest came out of nowhere and began to glow.

"Flame Swordsman, end this!" said Joey.

Flame Swordsman raised its sword but Seto pulled out his own weapon and blocked the attack.

"Kaiba, what are you doin'?"

"You don't need to attack to win. It's already over," said the CEO.

Tristan was confused, "It is?"

"See for yourselves," said Seto, putting his sword away. The glowing chest popped open. Yami removed the armor and gave control back to Yugi.

"The second part of the riddle explains it all," said Seto," We already passed."

"We did?" asked Alex, "You mean there was more?"

"The part you read only described the first part," said Tea.

"So what was the rest of the riddle?"

" '_When light is extinguished_

_The true test begins_

_For a creature of darkness it brings._

_But only the righteous and peaceful shall pass_

_To earn the endowment of wings.'_" said Seto.

"When the chest appeared, the monster was no longer a threat," said Yugi. "So Seto stopped Joey's attack to prove we were peaceful people."

"_Very good…" _said a mysterious voice. _"This challenge was a test of your character, and should you have attacked you would have failed. But by choosing the higher path, you have proven your worth once again."_

"Who are you?" asked Yami, taking control again. "How do you know so much about this place?"

"_I am a friend_._ I oversee these trials. Congratulations, you have achieved level two._"

At that moment, the second section of Hermione's pendant lit up. She looked down and took the amulet in her hands, "He's right, we did pass this trial."

"_Three trials remain, and the most difficult tests are at hand."_

"What happens if we fail a test?" asked Joey.

"_You will be trapped here until the next warrior comes along._"

"Then what happens after we pass these trials?" asked Seto.

"_You will have proven yourself a true king and the power you deserve shall be yours._"

"But we don't want power!" said Yami.

"_But there are those who do…and you must claim this power before they do..._"

"Well, we got our wings," said Tristan, "Now what?"

"I'm guessing we go through that big doorway in the sky," said Alex.

* * *

Gozaburo looked at the gold capsule sitting on his desk. Taking it in his hands he looked out a window facing town. _It's only a matter of time before the greatest power on Earth belongs to me!_

* * *

"First it was the desert…then a floating island…now it's a lava-covered wasteland. What's next a jungle full of food?" complained Tristan.

The rock Joey and Tristan were standing on gave away and if it wasn't for Tristan and Seto to grab his arms, he would have fallen into the lava river below.

"Joey! Tristan! Watch where you're going!" said Yugi, "You could have been killed."

Joey stayed on the ground, "Man, I need a vacation…"

"Why vacation when you've got a twisted life-threatening game?"

"Way to make me feel better, Kaiba."

"Anytime, Wheeler."

"Nyeh…I want out, so you guys chill here and let ol' Joey Wheeler handle this one!" Joey took off, "I won't come back without a clue!"

"That's impossible!" Seto shouted after him, "You're _always_ clueless!"

* * *

Joey was wandering up a path, muttering to himself, "Each one of these annoying challenges started off with an annoying riddle…now where's this one's riddle? I'm sure this challenge is no different." Out of the corner of his eyes, Joey saw something large and black coming toward him and he had barely enough time to drop to the ground.

"No way! It's my good buddy Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

The dragon turned around and started to make another pass at Joey, its claws ready to grab him.

"Hey, this is how you treat me…after all we've been through?"

The Red Eyes opened its mouth and sent out a magic blast toward Joey…

Joey started running from the attacks. Tripping on a pebble on the ground, he slid into the wall of the mountain. Joey looked down at his capsule shooter.

"I can't…" he said to himself, "I can't hurt him…c'mon Red Eyes! Don't make me do somethin' I'll regret!"

Red Eyes came closer and closer, but didn't leave a scratch on Joey as it passed.

"Weird," said Joey, "He doesn't want to hurt me either!"

* * *

"Guys, check it out!" Tea pointed across the lava river, "There's the clue!"

"Too bad it's on the other side of a lava pit," said Tristan.

"Leave that to me," said Hermione. Summoning her Cyber Harpie, she instructed her to retrieve the clue. When she received it, she handed it off to Brisbane. "What's it say?"

"_To gain the prize of thy desire_

_Locate the peak that spits fire._

_The Blade of Chaos thou must release,_

_To bring about everlasting peace._"

"I don't think a 'peak that spits fire' should be hard to spot," said Alex, "It's pretty obvious that we're talking about a volcano."

"What about the blade of chaos? How do we release it?" asked Tea.

"Let's not talk about it, and just start climbing that thing," said Seto.

After scaling part of the volcano, Tristan sighed, "I like how Joey conveniently disappears right before we learn we have to scale Mount St. Helens."

"More climbing, less complaining," said Seto, "didn't you learn your lesson last time?"

"C'mon, Kaiba, people don't fall into lava pits twice in one day!"

The part of the volcano Tristan then grabbed on to gave away and he fell down towards the flowing lava.

"Tristan!"

"Argh!" Tristan managed to grab onto a rock on the way down. However that rock also came loose, and he continued to fall. Lucky for him, he touched a capsule monster. Before he knew it, Tristan was on the back of Thunder Dragon.

"Hey guys!" Tristan said, riding his monster, "I think I found the easiest way up this thing. We should use our monsters, instead of climbing this thing."

"Sounds easy enough…"

Yami activated his Duel Armor to fly to the top while Seto rode his dragon. Dark Witch and Cyber Harpie carried Tea and Hermione while Pitch Dark Dragon took Alex to the flat upper area of the volcano.

Near the top was a sword stuck in the rock.

"Look!" Hermione pointed to the peak, "It's the Blade of Chaos!"  
When they landed on the flat area under the sword, everyone looked up at the Blade of Chaos.

"Who's gonna go up to the top? Draw straws?"

"No Tristan, we're all going!" said Alex.

"No. It's much too dangerous," said Yami. "Since Kaiba and I have armor, we'll go to the top."

"The rest of you stay here," said Seto, as the two went up to the sword. They were very close when a blast of dark magic hit the rock and sent the two flying. Yami looked to where the blast came from.

"Is that who I think it is?" he asked Seto.

The businessman peered at the shadowy figure, "Yep…it's Wheeler."

Joey looked like he was wearing 'Red Eyes Armor', and had a malevolent grin on his face.

"Joey!" exclaimed Yami, "What happened to you?"

"What does it look like?" asked Joey, "Don't play dumb with me! It's the same thing that you did. I merged with my favorite monster! And now that I've got a nice power boost, I'll finish this game without you dweebs!"

"Dweeb!" Tristan shouted, "Who're you calling a dweeb, Joey!"

"Easy," said Tea, "Joey's not like that. He must be under mind control or something."

"Snap out of it Wheeler," said Seto, merging his sword with his Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, "We don't have all day."

"Give me a break, Kaiba!" snapped Joey, "You're just jealous 'cause I'm stronger than you! And now I'll prove it!" Joey sent an 'Inferno Fire Blast' toward the others, who scattered to avoid the blast, but was still in the vicinity to be hit.

"Joey, listen to me! You're not in your right mind! You have to fight whatever it is that's controlling you!"

"Save it, Yugi! I'm through listening to you!"

Joey sent massive attacks toward Yami, who was blocking them with his staff.

**/We can't fight our best friend, Yami! We just can't!/**

/I'm sorry Yugi. He's not giving us much of a choice!/

"I'm sorry, Joey!" Yami sent Dark Magic attacks toward Joey.

"So that's how it is….fine." Joey and Yami continued to fight.

"Fight it Joey!"

"Face it, Yugi. The Joey you knew is gone!"

_Wait!_ Thought Joey_, I don't want to do this! Something happened when I was with Red Eyes on the path. I can't fight my best friend! Gotta break free!_

Hermione slowly opened her eyes. The blast knocked everyone off their feet. Tristan, Tea and Brisbane were starting to come to. "Oh no!" she cried, "The Blade of Chaos is sinking into the volcano!"

Seto ran toward the sword, but Joey blocked his path. "Oh look," the blond taunted, "Another hero!" He waved his staff at Seto, sending his dark magic toward him, but Seto deflected it with his glove and continued on his way to the sword. Joey then flew down closer to Seto. Before he could block Joey's attack with his sword, Joey struck him with his own staff. Seto tumbled down next to Tea.

"Seto!" Hermione ran over and knelt down next to him as he began to come around.

Seto coughed as he sat up, "Well…that could have gone better."

Joey, feeling Seto was no longer a threat, set his sights on Yami again.

"He's distracted," said Tristan, "That's our chance to pull out the sword!" Everyone but Alex ran up to the sword and began to tug it out. However, despite the four people yanking up on the handle, the Blade of Chaos continued to slide into the volcano.

Joey flew down to them after propelling Yami away. "You never learn, do you?" Making a swiping motion with his staff, the four fell back down the peak and landed in a big pile.

"Someone's on my arm!"

"Can't help you, Tristan, because someone's on top of my leg."

"Sorry, Tea," said Hermione, "Ouch! That was my hair!"

"Sorry!" said Tristan.

"If you all don't get off me," said Seto in a very low and threatening voice from the _very_ bottom of the pile, "I'll take this sword and impale someone with it…" That got everyone moving _real _fast. Seto looked up at Joey, and shook his head, "There's got to be a way to defeat him."

Meanwhile, Joey was able to temporarily overthrow Yami. Raising his staff for a finishing blow, something made him stop.

"What's going on?" cried Joey, "Why can't I move my arms!"

_It's me, _said Joey from inside his mind_, there's no way I'm letting you hurt my friends…I mean I don't like Kaiba…but that doesn't mean you can go all kung-fu on him…it's time to end this. YUGI!! I don't know if you can hear me, but you've got to attack me!_

**/Pharaoh! Did you hear that?/**

/It sounded like Joey…wanting us to attack him!/

**/He could get himself hurt though!/**

/Perhaps, but he wants us to. It might be the only way to break him free!/

Seto also seemed to hear Joey's plea, but didn't act like he heard anything.

"We've got to get to the sword," said Hermione, "or we'll all be stuck here!"

"Not on my watch!" Joey's controller was able to shake the good Joey off as he flew down right in front of Hermione. "Haven't you guys learned that you can't possibly defeat me?"

No one's invicible, Wheeler," said Seto, standing in front of Hermione, sword drawn, "Not even you."

Joey tried to slash Seto with his staff, but once again, the good Joey began to take over long enough for Yami to send a wave of Dark Magic at him. The blast hit dead-on.

In a flash of light, Red Eyes Black Dragon separated from Joey and flew towards the group, ready to strike. Seto struck Red Eyes with his sword and the dragon went down.

Alex ran up to the peak, but the sword had already gone completely into the rock. He fell to his knees, "…it's over…we lost!"

"No!" cried Tea, "Now we're never going to get of here!"

"Think…again!"

Everyone turned. Joey, weakened from Yami's blast, climbed up onto Red Eyes' back. In the middle of the dragon's back, was a sword, different to the one that fell into the volcano.

"Look!" said Alex, "it's another sword! Perhaps _that _is the real blade of chaos!"

"We didn't lose yet!" Joey grabbed the hilt of the sword and began to tug. With black magic coming from all angles out of the dragon, the sword was released.

"You're ok, pal," said Joey, as Red Eyes flew into Joey's capsule shooter. Joey put his favorite monster on his belt with Flame Swordsman and Baby Dragon as the third section of Hermione's amulet lit up.

"We did it, thanks to Joey!" Yugi cheered.

Part of the volcano disappeared, revealing another bright doorway.

"We're half finished now," said Hermione, "only three trials left. Let's say we go and get this one over with!"

"I'm with you!" said Joey, leaning on Tristan for support, "Let's blow this wasteland!"

"What do you think will be next?" asked Alex.

* * *

"I can't believe it…" said Joey.

"Wow…" said Hermione, "This is…different."

"I completely called it in the last challenge!" said Tristan.

Who would've thunk they'd end up in a jungle full of fruit?

* * *

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover

Well, that's the end for now. The purple button is a master secretary. However, he's kind of bored. Review if you would like and he'll recieve his paycheck! Thanks for reading!

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

I'm trying to crank these chapters out as well and as quickly as I can. However, my immortal enemies – the typos – are still at large, so if you find anything _really _drastic, let me know! Thanks for everyone who reviewed so far and gave their support for this story by adding it to their alerts and favorites.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. By now, I would think you know who does…

**/Blah/ is host to spirit**

/Blah/ is spirit to host

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover

* * *

Chapter 11

"Tristan, I can't believe it, but you were right. We _are _in a jungle of food."

"Wow, and I was just joking around, before!"

"But that over there is the most amazing thing I've ever seen," said Hermione, pointing to one side.

"I've never seen someone eat twice their body weight in tropical fruit…" said Seto, "Leave it to Wheeler to break an eating record…"

"Well," said Yugi, "He is a self-proclaimed food freak."

"You've got the freak part down right," said Tristan.

"At least when he's eating, he can't talk," said Seto.

"No, but I can still hear, Kaiba!" yelled Joey. He went to take a bit from a banana, when there was a puff of smoke.

"What was that!" cried Alex.

"A banana split?"

"Hey! What gives!" said Joey. It turned out the banana was really the next clue. Leaving his pyramid of yet-to-be-eaten food, he handed off the scroll to Alex.

"_Choose the apple that gives you a raise,_

_Then offer it up in the secret maze._"

"Choose an apple that gives you a raise?" asked Tea, "There are so many apples here! How do we know Joey didn't eat it already?"

Wandering through the paths of fruit-filled trees, Tristan suddenly ran forward. "I just found the motherload, guys! Isn't it beautiful??"

The gang ran to Tristan's location to find…

"A melon?"

Tristan's eyes were getting teary, "It's always been a dream of mine to eat a humongous cantaloupe!"

"…Okay…" said Seto shaking his head, "I thought I've heard it all, but that is definately one of the most disturbing things I've ever heard."

Tristan then started crying into his sleeve, "I was the president of the National Melon Lovers Fan Club for four years!"

"…not something you say out loud," snickered Joey. Tristan tried to pick up the large melon, but it was too big to grasp.

"We don't have time for this," said Seto, "It's not like someone's going to run off with that thing."

"You bet they won't!" Tristan pulled out a marker and drew his face and a 'peace' sign with his fingers on the melon. "Now the world knows this melon's mine!"

"Can we get going now?" asked Alex, "We have to find the apple that will give us a raise!"

At that moment, the giant melon started to shake, and then disappeared down a tunnel in the earth.

"That's not supposed to happen!" Tristan jumped into the hole after his melon, "Hey! Come back here with my giant cantaloupe!"

"Tristan!"

"He's nuts!" said Joey.

"Huh, and I thought you were wacked out, Wheeler…"

"Watch it, Kaiba…"

The hole the melon disappeared through was actually a secret passage. It led into a large torch-lit chamber with a _very_ high ceiling.

"Where are we supposed to find an apple in this place?" asked Joey, his stomach rumbling.

"You ate gazillion pieces of fruit and you're still hungry? You're messed up, Wheeler."

"I can't help it! I'm starvin'!"

"Look, up there!" Alex pointed to the top of three pillars. On each one, floating in a golden light, was three apples.

"Maybe those stairs over there have another clue, like how to get to the apples all the way at the top!"

"Wait, see anything familiar?" Yugi pointed to the side of the stairs, where Tristan's melon took refuge.

"Yea, it's my cantaloupe!"

"Don't be so sure," said Seto, putting his hand on the handle of his sword.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Tristan, rounding on Kaiba, "There's another gigantic cantaloupe with my face on it?"

"Taylor…it's not a melon…."

The 'melon' oozed out of its hiding place. It was actually a caterpillar.

"It's a bug!" exclaimed Yugi.

"This little adventure just gets weirder and weirder…" said Joey.

"I don't think it's a friendly melon-bug," said Tea.

"Well, let's teach it a lesson then," said Tristan, summoning his Thunder Kid, "Besides, impersonating produce is not cool!"

At that point, the ground began to shake. The square floor tiles began rising in all sorts of spots, creating long narrow passages. One by one, the gang was separated throughout an immense labyrinth.

When the walls stopped moving, Yugi found that he was alone in the tower of walls.

"I get it; this must be the maze to offer up the apple in!"

"Yes," said Yami in spirit form, "but we must first find the apple. And with the maze as large as it is, this could take some time."

"We should probably reunite with the others. There's no telling what could be in here."

"Good call, Yugi. Let's hurry before someone gets hurt."

* * *

Tea and Hermione were wandering down what seemed to be the tenth hallway in a row.

"Not another dead end!" Hermione leaned against the wall, "This is hopeless. We'll never find our way out of here!"

"Maybe we should try this way…" Tea rounded another corner, leading to another dead end. "Ugh! I give up!"

"No! There's a way out of this blasted maze and we're going to find it!" Hermione put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We can do this."

"Yea," Tea surged with confidence, "We _can_ do this! Besides, Yugi and Joey would never throw in the towel!"

* * *

"I'm throwin' in the towel!" Joey sighed. He had tried to draw a map of where he had been so far in the maze, but couldn't manage to figure anything out, "I bet there's no solution to this thing! Now let's see…first I was here…and then I went there…and then there…augh! Let's face it; I'll be spendin' the rest of my life here." He pulled a banana out of his pocket; it was a miracle it wasn't squashed. "Might as well have my last meal."

As he ate the fruit, suddenly, Joey felt a stamina boost. "Wow, this thing's a real energy booster…either this fruit is magic or I'm goin' bananas!"

* * *

Tristan and Thunder Kid passed around another corner and then stopped. "It is just me, or have we been in this spot before? Augh! We're going in circles! I can't take this! Every wall looks the same…wait a minute! That's it!" Tristan pulled out his handy-dandy marker and drew a doodle of his face on the wall, "Viola! Now if we see this handsome face again, we'll know we were already here!"

Then the two moved onward. Rounding a corner, Tristan found a wall with his face on it.

"What the – we've already been here!" Even though he already drew on the wall, Tristan made another doodle of him, and then pressed on. When they found another intersection, Tristan was at the same point as before.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, finishing another doodle. This time, Thunder Kid also found a marker and made a doodle of him as well. Now there were three Tristans and a Thunder Kid on the wall.

At least ten minutes later, Tristan was slowly making the rounds, "Believe it or not, I never want to see that handsome face again…" he happened to look up to see multiple Tristans and Thunder Kids all over the wall.

"Let's face it, little dude," said Tristan collapsing on the floor, "We're gonna be stuck here forever. I miss my friends! I think I even miss Joey!"

His cries were silenced when Thunder Kid poked his head and pointed to another corner of the hall. Sitting innocently in the corner was a capsule.

"Hey…I don't remember him being there…oh well. I hope this dude's friendly…" Placing a hand on the capsule shell, he waited to see what monster was inside…

* * *

Seto turned another corner and found yet another dead end. _I'm really getting tired of this…_. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a break in part of the maze wall. The two pieces of wall didn't exactly fit together, and that part of the wall was cracked. With a swift kick to the wall, the separated portion crumbled away to reveal a capsule (leaving the CEO with a very painful foot).

_Finally, I'll have something other than Blue Eyes Baby Dragon…_ Seto reached forward and touched the capsule. The shell gave away to reveal…

…another Blue Eyes Baby Dragon.

Seto was ready to bang his head against the wall. _You've got to be kidding me…_

* * *

"Is the challenge over yet?" asked Tea, as they turned another corner, "I'm really getting tired of this maze."

"Me too, but we've got to find our way out."

The two girls continued down another path when Hermione got the feeling someone was watching them.

"Stop for a minute," she said, looking around, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like someone was following us."

"You sure?" asked Tea, "It might have been your heels echoing off of the floor."

"No, I'm sure it wasn't me…"

"It might have been your imagination gone wild," said Tea. The two girls continued, and then Tea heard a low growl.

"Who's there?" she asked, whirling around. Grabbing her Dark Witch Capsule, she started to load it, when a silver rope-like substance shot out from the dark and grabbed it, along with Hermione's Cyber Harpie. The creature jumped down from his hiding spot. It was a humongous spider – and he didn't look friendly.

"Oh man, I really don't like bugs…and this isn't helping!" cried Tea as they ran from the large spider. Eventually, they came to a near dead-end. The large spider was gaining on them as they hit the wall.

"Look, over there!" Hermione pointed down the corridor. Sure enough, two capsules sat innocently, waiting to be released.

"Oh, thank goodness! Happy Lover wouldn't stand a chance against him."

However, when Tea and Hermione made a move for the capsules, the spider sent another wave of its silk out, catching the girls tightly at the ankles, sending them crashing to the floor.

"It's too far," cried Hermione, as the spider came closer to them, "I can't reach the capsule!"

"Hang on, we're not through yet!" Tea managed to summon her Happy Lover, "Give us a hand!"

The small fairy flew over to the first capsule, which was closest to Tea. With all the strength it could muster, Happy Lover was able to knock over the capsule.

Giving her fingers a stretch, Tea was able to grab onto the capsule. The shell gave away to reveal Seiryu, a pink dragon, which immediately incinerated the spider.

Hermione rubbed her ankle where the spider had grabbed it, and then reached over to the second capsule. Out of its shell was another dragon. This one was a more reddish-pink than Seiryu, with a long black chain around its neck.

"That's Harpie's Pet Dragon," said Tea, "It gets stronger with every Harpie Lady on the field. I guess it's convenient for you since you already have a Cyber Harpie."

"Yea," said Hermione, placing her new capsule on her belt and retrieving their lost capsules, "We should probably get going and find the others."

* * *

Joey was now eating a peach, still making a map on the ground, "This fruit really hits the spot – and it's givin' me brainpower too! So after rotating ninety degrees I remain perpendicular to this, make a one-eighty there…and then do this! Who knew I was so smart! I could give Kaiba a run for his money!"

Then something tapped his shoulder.

"Can't you see I'm doin' some serious calculations here?" Joey turned, expecting to see Kaiba ready to start mocking him about something…it was actually a large Battle Ox.

"YAAAAH!"

Joey fumbled with his belt to pull out his Red Eyes, dodging a blow from an axe twice his height, "Red Eyes! Show him a thing or two!"

The one thing Joey _didn't_ count on was because of the narrow corridors of the maze, Red Eyes didn't have any room to move. Before Battle Ox could strike Red Eyes, something barreled through the wall, spraying debris everywhere. The something that plowed through struck Battle Ox and sent him through a wall.

"Where are the brakes on this thing?" called a voice on the mysterious savior.

Joey blinked, "Tristan?"

* * *

Joey was now riding with Tristan on the mysterious monster, as the creature plowed through wall after wall.

"Where did this thing learn to drive?"

"I don't think he really cares, Joey, this guy's got a mind of its own!"

"Look out!"

Ducking their heads down, the boys avoided a large block of the maze wall as it flew past their heads.

Eventually, after Tristan's Shovel Crusher passed through enough walls of the maze, the entire gang (including Brisbane) was on Tristan's maze destroyer.

"Thanks to the new monsters you guys found, the gang is back together and better than ever!" said Yugi, "All we have to do now is find our way out of here, get the apple and offer it up!"

"I hope this guy knows where he's going," said Tristan, ducking to avoid being hit with a brick, "Hopefully we're barreling through this maze in the right direction."

"Speaking of," said Alex, "Doesn't it seem like we're cheating by going through the maze this way?"

"No one ever said we had to get of the maze the normal way," said Seto, "Shortcuts never hurt anyone."

After the gang crashed through a very thick wall, Yugi, Joey, Seto and Tea found themselves in the same room as the three pillars.

"We made it back!" cried Tea.

"What happened to the others?" asked Joey looking about, "And where's Tristan's monster?"

...

Unfortunately for the rest of the gang, they were stuck on Shovel Crusher as he continued down a different path, destroying even more of the maze.

...

"Wait a moment," said Seto, "There were three apples before. Why are there two now?"

"Worry about that later," said Joey, "What happened to the other half of our team?"

"Probably still on Tristan's insane monster," said Tea, "But now we're here, and we should at least figure out how to solve this thing."

A strange sound was heard near the stairs. The caterpillar had vanished, and a cocoon was in its place. Now, the shell was cracking.

"It's hatching into a Great Moth!" cried Yugi, and he felt Yami taking control just as the Great Moth sent a blast of wind toward the group.

"Load your capsules, and fire!"

"I summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

"Come out Seiryu!"

"I summon Dark Magician!" Yami's armor began to glow, "Activate Duel Armor!"

"Kaiba, do you still have that one monster?" asked Tea, "you haven't found a single capsule?"

"I did…" said Seto, holding up the other monster, "strangely enough, it happens to be a double. There's got to be a reason why there's two Baby Blue Eyes running around. "He summoned his small dragon and merged it with his sword.

"C'mon, Tea, if we attack all at once, that bug won't stand a chance against all of our monsters," said Joey.

"Right," said Tea, "Razor Fire Blast!"

"Inferno Fire Blast!"

"Dark Magic Attack!" cried Yami, twirling his staff.

All attacks hit dead-on with a deafening boom. However, when the smoke cleared, the Great Moth had evolved into Ultimate Great Moth, with not even a scratch on its wings.

"What the – it got stronger!" cried Yami.

"Uh oh," said Joey.

"That's not good!" Tea cried.

Joey turned to Seto, "Aren't you going to do anything?"

"The sword is too weak, and Blue Eyes Baby Dragon won't even stand a chance."

"…that sucks," said Joey, "But I'm pressin' on! Inferno Fire Blast!"

The moth, this time, activated a sort of shield and repelled Joey's attack back onto his dragon. Joey fell to his knees, clutching his side.

"Joey!" Tea ran over, "Are you alright?"

"Fine, oh no!" Joey looked up in time to see Yami get blasted full force by Ultimate Great Moth.

Seto watched Tea's monster get whammed by the large bug. _There's got to be a way to make this work. All of our monsters are too weak to battle, yet there _must_ be a way to pass this test. And what of the missing apple? First there was a caterpillar and three apples…then there was Great Moth and two apples…then two apples and Ultimate Great Moth. It's a long shot…but – no! It's the only way!_

Seto activated his sword again and separated himself from his Baby Blue Eyes. Getting on the monster's back, he flew up to one of the pillars with a floating apple.

"What does he think he's doing?" asked Yami, getting up.

"Looks like suicide…" muttered Joey.

"Joey!" Tea conked him on the head.

Seto took hold of the apple and handed it to his dragon.

"Did he do what I think he did?" asked Tea.

"Why'd Kaiba feed the apple to his monster?" Joey was deeply confused.

There was a blinding white light, then a tremendous roar. When the lighting returned to normal, Seto was sitting on the pillar, the moth was destroyed, and in place of Baby Blue Eyes was a full grown Blue Eyes White Dragon.

By the time Tristan, Hermione and Alex came running in, Seto was back on the ground, the other apple in his hand.

"I hope we didn't miss anything!" exclaimed Tristan, catching his breath.

Joey snickered, "Isn't there a melon you should be chasing?"

Alex looked at the remaining apple, "You've solved it! How did you do it?"

Seto looked up at the pillars and sighed, "When we came in here, there was a caterpillar and three apples on three pillars. Once we got out of the maze there was a cocoon turned moth and only two apples. The caterpillar had eaten one of the three apples and it evolved him into a Great Moth. Obviously the three apples were there for a reason. One of them was to level up the caterpillar. I used the second to level my Blue Eyes into a bigger Blue Eyes, and the third is to offer up, as stated in the riddle." Judging by the blank stares given off by Joey and Tristan he added, "You better have gotten that, because I'm not repeating it."

"Uh…I wasn't really payin' much attention, but all that gibberish sounded good so what the heck!" said Joey.

"So now the only thing left to do is to offer up the apple," said Yugi, getting control back, "And I bet we do that at the top of the stairs."

"What happened to your monster, Tristan?" asked Tea.

"He's sleeping," Tristan held up a snoring capsule, "I guess breaking through every wall in sight finally took its toll on him."

The gang walked up the steps. Seto placed the apple on a block sitting at the very top. A long set of stairs appeared behind it, at the top of those was an open doorway. The fourth section of Hermione's amulet lit up. "Only two more trials left," she said happily.

"What with all the bright lights and long staircases?" muttered Joe, "I just can't wait to get back in the real world!"

"Me too, where you can eat a melon without it running away!"

"Joey rolled his eyes, "Shut up Tristan."

* * *

"Are we leaving yet?"

"No, Yami, we're not."

"Drat…well, why not?"

"If you don't mind, Thief, I don't get to see my father often, and would actually _like_ to spend time with him."

"Whatever…"

Ryou sighed. Since he came home to see his father, Yami Bakura has wanted nothing but to go back to Domino. The only thing he had really enjoyed was seeing the surprised look on Ryou's father's face when Ryou told him the old ring had a cranky spirit in it. He was even more surprised to know that the cranky spirit was actually Ryou's ancestor and had a physical body of his own.

"Well, _when_ are we going back, anyhow? I need to see Marik and plan our next phase of fun and torment."

"We aren't going back 'till Friday…and today's Tuesday."

"Double drat…"

* * *

The other side of the doorway was a dark village, with no civilians in sight. Stuck on a post was a familiar looking scroll.

"I think this is our next clue," said Yugi, looking at it, "Would you like to do the honors, Alex?"

"Well, if you wish," said Alex, peering at the ancient letters.

"_Slay them all if you dare:_

_Earth, fire, sky, water, and air._"

"Slay them all? Slay what?" asked Tristan, "There's no one here!"

"What about over there?" asked Hermione, pointing down the road and off into the distance. Torches were lit at the end of the road and a few people far down were heading down a side path.

The mysterious voice from the second trial spoke to them once more.

"_You have entered the settlement knows as Village of the Divine Dragon._"

"Eh…any more hints about this place?" asked Joey, "Tips, words of wisdom?"

There was no reply.

At the end of the road, they stumbled upon a mysterious ritual. The people of the village seemed to be praying before a gigantic stone slab. There was a monster etched into the stone slab, but from their distance, Yugi couldn't see what it was. It appeared to be a dragon.

From among the people praying to the stone slab, a girl walked down the aisle of people toward the tablet. None of the civilians took notice to the newcomers.

"I wonder who she is," said Hermione, "Whoever she is, she must be important."

They watched the girl approach a man at the end of the aisle.

"Are you ready to offer your soul to the Divine One? Doing this will ensure our protection from the Fiendish Five."

"You hear that? She's a sacrifice!" exclaimed Alex.

"I have a feeling," said Yami, "that saving this girl is important to the challenge."

The gang walked up to the man and the girl. It was now that the civilians noticed their presence.

"State your intentions. This is a sacred ritual," said the man.

"Well we're here to put a stop to it, before someone gets hurt," said Joey, walking to the edge. He kicked a pebble over the edge and waited for it to hit the bottom. After five minutes, he didn't hear a peep, "Don't you see? That could have been you!"

"Who are you people, anyhow?" asked the man.

"We're on a mission to destroy some monsters or something," said Tristan.

The man was deeply surprised, "Then you must be the legendary warriors of the prophecy!"

There was a lot of murmuring within the crowd, people whispering about legendary warriors and the defeat of great monsters.

"Are you expecting us?" asked Yami.

"I should explain," the man said, "Long ago, this land was ruled by five terrible dragons. Then one day, they were banished by the Divine White Dragon who promised to protect us until the legendary warriors arrived."

"Well, that sounds like a happy ending," said Tristan.

The man shook his head, "The Divine One has a limited energy source. In order to keep ourselves safe from the Fiendish Five, we must hold this annual ritual to give the dragon strength. The White Dragon feeds on human souls."

"So you pick a defenseless kid?" asked Alex.

The girl shook her head, "No, no! I volunteered. It's my duty to the town as a citizen to put our names in the lottery."

"If you can find and defeat the Fiendish Five, her soul will be spared," said the man thoughtfully.

"Tell us where we must go, and we will make sure the Fiendish Five never harm you again," said Yami.

One of the villagers ran forward, "You don't know what you're dealing with! No one has ever entered the Domain of the Fiendish Five and survived to tell of it!"

Yami gave his traditional victory smirk, "Until now."

"Very well," said the man at the end of the path, "The five dragons rest each in five different locations. They are the Whirlwind Forest, the Bottomless Spring, the Cavern of No Return, Meteor Mountain, and the most dangerous of them all – the Great Molten Chasm. You have until sun rises to defeat them all. Otherwise, a sacrifice must be made to the Divine One."

"If they're so brave," said the random villager from before, "Let one of _them _offer up their souls."

"Fine!" said Joey boldly, "If we don't win this, you can take…him!" he pointed to Tristan.

"Real nice Joey!"

Yami sighed, "No soul will need to be sacrificed. Just put your faith in us. I promise we won't let you down."

Tristan gulped, "I hope so…"

The girl nodded.

"If this works," said the ritual master, "we will be forever in your debt. Good luck!"

The girl led them through the town, "Are you really the legendary warriors the prophecy speaks of?"

"All I know is that we have to face this task to go home," said Yami.

"Check this out!" exclaimed Alex. He was standing in front of a large stone mound, a sword protruding from the rock.

"My people call this the 'Sword of Divinity' and the legend states that this will defeat the Fiendish Five."

"Is there a catch?" asked Tea.

"Yes, only the legendary _chosen_ warriors can pull the sword from the rock."

"Sounds good," said Tristan, "One handy-dandy-magic sword comin' up!" Tristan pulled and pulled, he yanked and he yanked, but the sword didn't move an inch.

"Lemme see that," said Joey. With their combined strength, the sword still decided not to budge, "Guess we're not the chosen ones."

"Well," said the girl, as Joey, Alex, and Tristan tried tugging together, "Maybe only _one_ of you is meant to control the sword."

"Yea, Yug'. You give it a go."

Yami walked up to the sword and gave a yank. Nothing happened.

Seto then strode up to the sword. He also struggled with it, but was just as able to remove it as Tristan was.

"The legend also states that when a great power descends from the skies, the sacred sword will rise."

Joey sighed, "If I hear another riddle, my head's gonna explode!"

Seto rolled his eyes, "There's still another task after this one, so enjoy your head while it lasts."

"That riddle might be the only way to remove the sword," said Tea.

"Well, we need to find the Fiendish Five before they find us," said Hermione.

"Yes," said the girl, "If they get here, their power will grow!"

"Then there's no time to lose," said Yami, "We only have until the sun rises to finish this task!"

Seto nodded, and then a sharp burst of pain surged through his chest, in the same places where Snape had hit him with Sectusempra. Wincing, he fell to one knee, his hand on his chest, breathing heavily.

He felt Hermione drop beside him, "What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"I don't know…it's like the curse Snape used on the stairs that night…"

"But Madame Pomfrey gave you a clean bill of health. There shouldn't be anything wrong with you!"

"Well, obviously," Seto gasped in pain, "Something _is_ wrong…"

By now, the rest of the group was around him. Seto pulled off his magical glove and rubbed his hand as it twinged in pain.

"Eh, Kaiba, what's on your hand?" asked Joey, turning his head for a better look. Seto glanced at it. The bandages covering his detention message had fallen off – most likely in the last challenge – and the words were standing out against blood that had dried there.

Seto managed to pull himself into a sitting position, as he heard Tristan whisper to Joey 'what did it say?'. Glaring at them both, "You repeat one word of and I will_ personally_ make sure you lead _very _miserable lives."

Joey looked at Tristan and gulped. They knew Seto was in pain for some reason, but they were also smart enough to know he could very well carry out that threat.

"Seto, you're overreacting," said Hermione, "Take a deep breath and –"

"There is nothing _calm_ about what that witch did to me," said Seto, hiding the back of his hand from view, "It's not something I want everyone known about…and knowing Wheeler's mouth, it would end up in the Domino Times…"

"Hey! I find that insulting, Kaiba!"

Tristan turned to his friend, "Joey…you do have a big mouth. If you accidently let that slip at school, who knows who could hear it."

Joey pouted, but said nothing.

"Well, if Madame Pomfrey healed that wound, and gave you a clean bill, then maybe it's not from Snape. Perhaps it was from Umbridge herself and that blasted quill."

Seto looked at his girlfriend, "I've had these scars on my hand for months. Why are these side-effects – if they are – showing up now?"

"Magic works in very strange ways. It could be dark magic," said Hermione, "It could also be something that happened afterwards. Did you eat anything strange when we left Hogwarts?"

Seto shrugged, "Oh, I don't know…Ron was eating something on the train. The last thing I had was given to me by the pilot of the plane. He got it before we took off."

"It's possible whatever he got you was tampered with," said Yami, "Someone might be trying to get rid of you."

Seto felt the pain surge through his chest again and winced, "They're not doing a very good job, are they?"

"I hate to seem like an uncaring monster or anything," said Alex, "But we _do _only have until sun up to finish this task. While I do care for his wellbeing, we can't be allowed to be trapped here forever."

"Go," said Seto, as he leaned against the mount of the Sword of Divinity, "Don't lose this because of me. I – (wince) – I solved the last one, you can solve this one."

"Someone should stay with you," said Tea, "You really don't look good."

"For crying out loud, Garnder, I'm not five years old."

"Still –"

"Don't worry," said the girl, "I'll stay here with him. You all must defeat the Fiendish Five."

Hermione squeezed Seto's hand before getting up, "Be careful."

Seto smirked, "I should be telling you that."

* * *

Joey ended up in the Whirlwind Forest. The area definitely lived up to its name, for the winds were very strong. Joey had to keep his arm over his face to be able to see.

"Aw man! I knew we shouldn't have split up!"

Then something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, "Nyeh!"

The wind picked up and a tornado formed out of the sky, but then turned into a familiar looking wind dragon.

"Well, here goes nothing! Load capsule…and fire! Go Red Eyes!"

* * *

Tea and Hermione were in the Cavern of No Return. "Any dragons out there?" called Tea.

Hermione held the torch as they continued through the cave, "I have a bad feeling about this place," she said.

"Look, over there!" Tea pointed into the darkness, where pair of eyes was staring back at them. Coming out of the shadows was a dragon of darkness. "You want to dance, tough guy?" said Tea, "Dance to Seiryu and Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

* * *

"I wonder why this place is called Meteor Mountain," Tristan said to himself. Then, meteors randomly fell from the sky.

"YAHH!" Tristan ran for cover, "That answers that question!"

While running, Tristan nearly went smack into a very round, earthy dragon.

"Geez, where did that thing come from? Go Thunder Dragon! Show him a thing or two!"

* * *

Alex was in the Bottomless Spring.

"Everything seems peaceful enough – oh, what's this?" A ripple was forming in the once-calm water, "I guess I'm not alone after all."

Water then shot into the sky, and a large water dragon came out of the lake.

"I summon my Pitch Dark Dragon," said Alex, loading his capsule, "Now, let's see what you've got!"

* * *

Yami was in the Molten Chasm, jumping from rock to rock, skillfully avoiding falling into the lake of lava below. After landing on a rocky ledge, he saw a capsule, sitting on another ledge not too far away.

"A capsule…well, another one couldn't hurt."

Jumping from ledge to ledge, Yami grabbed hold of the capsule. In a bright light, Black Luster Soldier was unleashed.

"Well, what do you know? Now we have a dragon to slay!"

Just then, some of the lava began to bubble, and a flames shot into the ash-filled sky. The flames formed themselves into a dragon. A very _familiar_ dragon…

* * *

The girl from the ritual was still sitting at Seto's side while the others were dragon slaying. Not long after Hermione had left his side, Seto slipped into an unconscious state, and the girl could tell he was in pain of some sort.

Now, some of the villagers had come over, to see if the others had returned.

"Isn't he one of the legendary warriors?" asked one man, "Why is he here?"

"He was hurt from a previous battle," said the girl, and then she gasped, "He still is! I need some water!"

She had noticed that trickles of blood were seeping out from under the magic glove. Carefully removing the garment, she tried to clean the fresh and dried up blood away, when she noticed the scars of Seto's neat script burned into his skin. _What happened to you, brave warrior?_

* * *

The fire dragon gave its burning attack at Yami, but he send out his own.

"Chaos Blade Strike!" he cried. Black Luster Soldier struck the dragon three times, sending it toppling back into the lava.

* * *

Joey was clinging to Red Eyes Black Dragon for dear life as the wind dragon tried to blow him away.

"Red Eyes, attack!"

The blast from the dragon seemed to work. The enemy dragon went down in a ball of fire.

"There," said Joey, "That showed him!"

* * *

"Let's finish this one off," said Hermione. Commanding her dragon to attack, the dark dragon was pushed to the very back of the cave, and then there was silence.

"We did it!" the girls cheered.

* * *

"I see meteors!" Tristan cried, as the fiery balls of rock hit Thunder Dragon. Tristan then wobbled around, dizzy from the attack, "Now I see stars…"

Thunder Dragon quickly got its bearings and demolished the remaining meteors with its lightning attack. Then, he turned on the earth dragon, shocking the life out of it.

"Ha! Shocking, isn't it?"

* * *

Alex circled the water dragon on his Pitch Dark Dragon, "Fire!" he commanded, "Take him out!"

* * *

Yami stared where the fire dragon had disappeared into the lava. "That seemed almost too easy," he said. He turned to go, when a bubbling sound reached his ears. The dragon once again rose from the flames; this time, its eyes were glowing bright green.

"What the – I already defeated it! How can it be back?"

The dragon let out a quick flame toward Yami, then flew off into the sky.

"Oh no!" the Pharaoh cried, "We can't let it get away!"

**/Remember, Pharaoh, its power will grow in the city! We can't let it get back to the village!/**

Yami then merged with his Black Luster Soldier. Using his Duel Armor as his means to fly, he chased after the dragon, "Chaos Scepter Blast!" He struck the dragon again, sending it – once again – crashing to the ground.

"Farewell." Yami then was blasted from behind by the wind dragon, with Joey on its tail. Then from the ground came the earthy dragon, with Tristan following from the air. The dark and water dragons also arrived, with Tea, Hermione and Alex close behind.

"Are you all okay?" asked Yami.

"We would be if these dragons knew when to stay down," said Tristan.

"They're indestructible," Hermione cried, "It's the only explanation!"

**/Then what the girl said must be true, Yami! We _have_ to release the Sword of Divinity!/**

/Yes, but the legend stated that the sword will rise when a great power…that's it!/

"Everyone," called Yami, "We have to lead these dragons back to the village!"

"Are you insane?" said Alex, "They'll crush it!"

"Trust me! In order to release the Sword of Divinity, a great power must descend from the sky!"

"I hope he knows what he's doing," Alex muttered as he and the others baited the enemy dragons back to the village.

Yami landed in the village square near the Sword of Divinity.

"Look!" the girl cried, "They came back!"

"Everyone take cover! You're about to receive some unwanted company."

The villagers saw the approaching Fiendish Five and panicked.

"Well, there goes the neighborhood," said Joey.

"You fool! Now they'll destroy us!" cried the man from the ritual. "You've made them more powerful than ever!"

Yami gave his victory smirk, "Exactly. That's the point." He walked up to the Sword of Divinity and gave a mighty yank.

To his astonishment, along with everyone else's, nothing happened.

"I…I don't understand!" Yami cried, "When a great power descends from the sky, the sacred sword shall rise…but the sword won't come out?"

"Of course!" Hermione ran over to Seto to check on him, "I don't think you were meant to control that sword, Yugi."

Joey, Tristan, Tea and Alex all then tried to pull up the sword in the few minutes before the Fiendish Five would be able to annihilate the town.

"You mean…"

"I think Seto was meant to control that sword," said Hermione, "When we first learned we had to complete six trials, you two were given armor. Could it be mere coincidence that he was already given a sword to use?"

"Yea, but I've got a problem with your theory," said Joey, "Kaiba's out cold! How's he gonna defeat five dragons?"

Miraculously, Seto began to stir.

"Kaiba," Yami stood over his rival, "Are you alright?"

"I might be…" said the CEO, getting up slowly. Somehow, the pain in his chest was vanishing away, which he didn't have a problem with – he wasn't even sure where it came from. He happened to look up to see five menacing dragons coming up on a panicked town. "Let me guess…you brought the dragons here…you must _really_ be out of your mind."

"Perhaps, but it is the only way to get the Sword of Divinity out of the stone!"

"Then why haven't you?"

"I can't," Yami shook his head, "I'm not the chosen one, apparently. You're the only one who hasn't tried to get it out yet."

"So you're saying I've got to get rid of the big, bad and ugly? Wonderful…" Seto grabbed hold of the Sword of Divinity and pulled. To everyone's amazement, the sword came cleanly out.

"It worked!" Tristan exclaimed.

Seto then summoned his Blue Eyes White Dragon, and it joined the other good dragons in the sky. Then, all of the dragons (other than the Fiendish Five) started to emit a bright blue glow. The sword also began to glow the same color.

"Look!" the girl cried, "The Sword of Divinity is channeling the strength of the other dragons!"

When the sword had finished, it looked like a long blue light going straight up into the sky. With the long length of the blade, Seto was able to strike all five members of the Fiendish Five. All of them, once struck, fell to the ground just outside the village with an echoing crash.

_That seemed much too easy_, thought Seto.

The villagers began to cheer.

"The Fiendish Fiver was defeated!"

"Yay!"

"Those dragons will never harm us again!"

"Our village is spared!"

The girl ran up to Seto, "Are you alright?"

Seto nodded as the sword returned to normal.

"You have spared my soul, and saved my village," she continued, "I am forever in your debt!"

"You really _are_ the Chosen One," said a villager.

Joey grinned, "Hey! I'm the Chosen One's best friend!"

Seto rolled his eyes. _Leave it to Wheeler…_

"This means we passed the test!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Not quite," said Hermione. She was looking at the amulet in her hand, "The fifth stone…it didn't light up!"

"That doesn't make sense," said Yami, "The dragons were defeated!"

A low growl alerted Seto's ears and he spun around toward where the dragons had fallen. They were slowly getting back up, their eyes were glowing an eerie red.

To add to the confusion, the dragons suddenly changed into bright beams of light, and began intertwining together. When the light faded, a menacing five-headed dragon was in its place. Each head of the dragon was represented by each member of the Fiendish Five – a water, fire, dark, earth, and wind.

"I've seen that before," Seto muttered, thinking back to his Virtual Reality game. The Big Five had created Five Headed Dragon as the final 'boss' monster to defeat him and Yugi. Luckily for them, they had the monster needed to defeat it. However, Master of Dragon Solder needed Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Black Luster Soldier, and Seto didn't have his three headed Blue Eyes at his disposal.

Only a miracle would pull them out of this one…

* * *

Gozaburo sat at his desk, fragments of a once magnificent sword around him. Taking two pieces, he pushed them together to see if they fit. _This is all one big jigsaw puzzle_, he thought, _I hate those things…aha! These two fit together!_ Using his wand, Gozaburo used a nonverbal spell to meld the two fragments together.

"_Very good…you managed to get two pieces together…"_

Gozaburo looked up suddenly. He could have sworn someone was there. Then he peered down at his work. He _did _finally get two correct pieces to work. Only a gazillion more fragments to go, but still…he could have sworn he heard that mysterious voice in a dream.

"Is someone there?" Gozaburo called out to the empty room.

"_Yes. I am here."_

Gozaburo stood and glanced around, "Where are you?"

"_Well…you can say I'm in many places. I'm broken up in that sword you're trying so desperately to mend."_

"Who are you?"

"_My name is Aknadin."_

* * *

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu

I'm working to _attempt_ Friday updates of this story (starting next week), so hopefully you can expect an update on July fourth. Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Well, I pretty much managed to stick to my deadline (worldwide gasp!). Shocking, isn't it? I'm _definitely_ going to try Friday updates. I hope you can all keep up with me! I don't really think I've mentioned this at all so far, but I can _**guarantee**_ character deaths. I'm not saying if they're major or minor characters, but there will be death…just a warning from your friendly neighborhood Spiderman – err… I mean author. Friendly neighborhood fanfic writer.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. By now, I would think you know who does…

**/Blah/ **is host to spirit

/Blah/ is spirit to host

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Celtic Guardian, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu

* * *

Chapter 12

"Any luck yet?" asked Roland. He was standing behind Mokuba in Seto's office, amazed of Mokuba's good hacking skills. "Though, your brother won't be pleased that you're hacking though his well-put together systems."

"Yes, but this is important. We have to figure out who's stealing from Kaiba Corp!"

Mokuba continued to work his fingers on the keyboard, but then came across Seto's well-placed security measures.

"Darn!" Mokuba sighed, "I didn't even know of a bunch of these "hack-proof" systems. No wonder Seto's here all the time. He must update this thing every day!"

Roland didn't respond, but finished his takeout from Burger World.

* * *

Tristan glared at the Five Headed Dragon, "Man, those five heads equal one big headache."

"There must be a way to save ourselves from that," said a villager.

"There is! Run for your life!"

The villagers panicked and scrambled, running in all different directions.

"We've got to help these guys out!" yelled Joey, "Inferno fire blast!" Joey's attack hit the dragon's belly head on. However, the large beast didn't react to the attack at all.

"Uh oh, that's not good," said Tea.

The dragon turned its fire-based head back at Joey, sending Red Eyes crashing to the ground.

"Are you alright, Joey?" asked Yami.

"Dandy…"

"If this is really Five-Headed Dragon," said Seto, _and there's only one five-headed dragon that looks like that…_, "It can only be destroyed by light monsters."

"Now you tell me!" Joey smacked his fist into the ground, "Ow."

"Light monsters? That puts us at a disadvantage," said Yami, "Then Tristan, use your Thunder Dragon. And Tea, you use your Happy Lover, your Seiryu and your witch!" Yami turned to Seto, but the taller boy had already summoned his two dragons.

The attacks didn't seem to work very well. While the monsters were making hits, slashes and blasts at the five-headed fiend, it was too powerful to destroy. The fiendish dragon got tired of Tristan's monster and grabbed its lizard-like body within the wind-based head's mouth. The wind head flung Tristan away, sending Thunder Dragon crashing into Seiryu. They both fell down to the ground.

Tea got up, wincing, and rubbing her head, "My head says we need a new plan."

Tristan gaped up at the Five-Headed Dragon glaring all ten eyes back at them, "Well, my feet say we need to run!"

"Let's try this again," said Seto, irritably. Channeling into the Sword of Divinity, he made a large gash in Five-Headed's side just before the fire-head could make a barbeque out of Tea and Tristan.

"Yes! Nice shot!" exclaimed Tea, but then gasped as the wound healed back up again.

That only seemed to irritate the dragon even more. The darkness head and the water head sent out a blast at Tea and Tristan. Holding his gloved hand in front of him, Seto planned on redirecting the attack back on the source. However, the glove only was able to reflect a small portion of one attack and the rest sent Seto flying. He landed on the ground hard about fifty feet from where he was standing.

"Kaiba!" Yami rushed over, "Are you alright?"

Seto didn't move right away, though his eyes were open. He stared back up at Yami's offering hand. He also noticed his glove was smoking. "That didn't work out…. We need a new strategy."

"We also need to protect these villagers," said Yami, "If we don't win this soon, that dragon will destroy the entire city!"

Seto gave a weak smirk, "Well, whose fault is it for bringing them here in the first place…"

"Spare me, Kaiba. It was necessary to raise the Sword of Divinity –"

"Which also isn't working," said Seto, "This thing's supposed to slay the dragons, and it's not."

"Worry about that later. We have to find a way to slay that beast."

Seto finally got up, rubbing the back of his neck, "Easy for you to say," he muttered, "You're not the one with the sword…."  
"Since I have more armor, I can at least lead it away from the village," said Yami, "You and the others must find a way to destroy the dragon _and _protect the village."

"Whatever," said Seto, "But while you're at it, see if you can find Brisbane. He seems to conveniently disappear when no one's paying attention to him."

"You don't trust him?"

"No. His story has a bunch of holes in it. I'd just keep an eye on him once we get out of here."

"Later, right now, we have a dragon to slay."

* * *

The girl from the ritual, seeing Seto's and Yami's failing attempts to slay the Fiendish Five, ran up to the immense slab of the Divine Dragon. Curious, Joey followed after her. He watched her pray facing the Fiendish Five, but didn't see her turn toward the Divine tablet.

"Please, Divine One, hear me."

"I hear ya, but please, call me Joey."

When Joey realized she wasn't talking about him, he saw her kneeling before the stone tablet of the Divine Dragon. Soon, other members of the village began to pray for help. Joey turned toward the battle and saw Yami and Seto fighting a losing battle. While Yami was in front, absorbing most damage with Black Luster Soldier's Duel Armor, Seto was behind trying to rebound as much as possible. Since they were doing pretty well fending off the water and earth head, the fire head stopped battling Harpie's Pet Dragon and sent a blast toward them. Finally, Seto's glove gave out and he was dealt a full blow from the darkness head. He fell, leaving Yami with five very dangerous heads.

Joey looked back at the villagers. The girl was still praying to the big rock.

"Please, we ask you to help the stranger defeat the Fiendish Five," said the girl, "He has proven himself the Chosen Warrior. He was able to hold the Sword of Divinity."

"Yes, please guide this young man to victory."

The girl turned, surprised by the new voice. The rest of the town had come to give their prayers to the Divine Dragon. Then she saw Yami fall beside Seto, who still hadn't moved since he last fell.

"Please help him," said the girl. A few tears escaped her, and fell to the ground. As if it was from a dream, ripples started to emit from where the teardrop hit the ground. The ripples started to grow, and even went through the Divine One's stone slab. A magnificent roar was heard and a beam of white escaped from the large stone slab.

Seto groaned and slowly got to his feet. Yami was once again trying to hold off an attack when the wind head noticed the CEO get back up again. The wind head and the fire head was about to turn Seto into ashes when the white beam shot out and absorbed the attacks from all heads.

Everyone turned to stare at the beam of light. It transformed into a large white dragon with blue eyes. Its scales almost seemed metallic.

"Is that…" said Joey.

"Blue Eyes Shining Dragon," said Seto. The large metallic-looking dragon was second to none as it hovered in front of the Fiendish Five. A channel of white light rained down from the dragon and onto Seto.

Seto looked at the Sword of Divinity in his hands, and then up at the dragon. He held the sword high in the air, expecting the magnificent dragon to merge with it. However, that didn't happen. Seto then realized what he had to do.

"I activate Shining Nova!" he announced, and he could have sworn that the Blue Eyes nodded at him.

"Shining what?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Shining Nova takes the rage of 1000 Blue Eyes White Dragons and combines it into an attack so strong it destroys itself _plus_ anything I chose," said Seto, and he turned back to the dragon, "Blue Eyes, sacrifice yourself to destroy the Fiendish Five!"

Blue Eyes Shining Dragon gave out a mighty roar before turning into a beam of light. The light traveled down and into the Sword of Divinity, which then began to emit a pale blue glow. Seto turned to face the Five Headed monster. Stepping back, he lobbed the sword right at the dragon's belly. The sword made its target. Just after it hit, the light from the sword began traveling up the Fiendish Five, as if the light was giving cracks along the dragon's scales. When the "cracks" of light consumed most of the dragon, it burst apart in shards of light.

Seto went to pick up the sword as the darkness around the village began to vanish.

"The sun has returned! We are in darkness no more!" cried the villagers.

There was a bright light around the ritual ground. Blue Eyes Shining Dragon had returned to its stone slab.

"My people give you our eternal gratitude," said the girl, as everyone regrouped, "You destroyed an enemy of our village that had haunted us for centuries! You also saved my soul, for that I am forever in your debt."

"Nyeh, it was nothing, really," said Joey, grinning.

The girl walked past him and up to Seto, "Thank you, Seto. Now all you have to do to leave is answer one more riddle…"

"Has your head exploded yet?" Seto smirked. Joey glared at him.

"Not another riddle!"

The girl laughed, "Just kidding!"

"Aw, real funny, now everyone's a comedian! You know I hate those riddles!" Joey rubbed his head, "So where the way to the next challenge?"

The fifth piece of Hermione's amulet lit up.

"Why don't we just follow the road out of town?" asked Alex. Hermione jumped. She had forgotten he was even with them.

"Where have you been?" asked Seto.

"Oh, well…uh when the dragons merged together, they could only be defeated my light monsters, and both of mine are creatures of darkness, so I helped the villagers as best I could."

"I see," said Yugi. He sounded alright, but deep down he was starting to get suspicious of Brisbane too.

**/Something's just not right about him Yami. I can't place what it is, but something's amiss./**

/I know Yugi. Be careful. Kaiba doesn't seem to trust him either. Keep an eye out for anything strange and mysterious./

Following Alex's suggestion, after giving the villagers a fond farewell, the travelers used the path leading out of the town. Before long, a doorway appeared in a large boulder. As usual, the doorway was engulfed in bright light.

"Whoever created this place sure had a thing for bright lights," said Joey. They walked towards the doorway.

The other side of the doorway was in a wooded area. It seemed to be nightfall. Off in the distance, they could see lights, perhaps from a city. Against the bright moonlight a large castle could be seen on the top of a hill.

"Anyone see that annoying riddle we've got to solve?" asked Joey.

"It's too dark too tell," said Yugi, "It must be the dead of night, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty tired. You think it would hurt our chances of leaving this place if we got some rest?"

"I don't think that would be too much trouble," said Alex, "According to my colleague, he said his challenge was in a wooded area with a castle far off in the distance. It took him a while to finish the challenge, but there was no time constriction."

"Sounds good to me," said Tea, "From the giant melon-bugs to the nastiest dragons, I could use a break.

"This is the last challenge, so it's probably going to be the hardest," said Tristan, "Sleep sounds like a good idea." He sat against a tree and closed his eyes.

Seto started down the path away from the group.

"Where are you going, Rich Boy? Are we too low to rest with you?"

"For your information, Wheeler, I'm going for a walk. I need to…relieve my mind of a few things."

"Mind if I join you?" asked Yugi. Seto shrugged and the two walked off, "We'll be back soon guys," he called behind him.

"Well, goodnight!" Joey leaned against a tree and almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

"You don't trust Alex? He seems sincere enough," said Yugi, "For the most part."

"There are gaps in his story," said Seto, "For someone who's never been here before, he knows an awful lot about this place. He barely knows us at all, yet he would risk his own freedom to come into this…game…to get us out. If his buddy – who he never mentions by name – was able to do it single-handed, you would think that six of us would be able to do it."

"I guess…"

"I also think that this whole thing is set up."

Yugi looked up at his companion, "Why say that?"

Seto stopped walking, and turned to face his rival, "When the plane crashed, I was the first to regain consciousness. I went to check on the pilot. He was dead and the systems were fried."

"Yea, so?"

"The pilot had the Dark Mark on his arm. I doubt Voldemort's cronies learn to fly airplanes for everyday use. I've had this pilot for a long time – before we even heard of the name Voldemort or a Hogwarts School."

"You suspect Voldemort?"

"No."

"No?"

"I suspect Gozaburo."

"…Oh…."

"Before I took over Kaiba Corp, he was one of Gozaburo's helicopter pilots. He was good, but swore loyalty to me when the company changed hands."

"So you think that Gozaburo wanted to get rid of you by trapping you in here?"

"Originally yes. However, the mysterious voice told us that if we pass all of these stupid trials, then we get some sort of power. Something my stepfather would more-than-likely try to get his hands on."

"So how does Alex fit into this?"

"He probably works for Gozaburo. He could have gone through the game, told Gozaburo about it, and had us get the power for him. However, he probably thought of the possibility that we might fail and came in after us to make sure we all got out. Seriously, why _else_ would he come in here after us?"

"Kaiba, I know you're slowly turning from your cold darkness to a better friend to me and my friends, but that is a compassionate thing to do – to help others."

"Maybe – but if this friend of his came out of the game just after we went in, you would think he would find us sooner."

"…True. His friend would tell him all about the game…"

"Plus, he saw what we all stepped on back in the pyramid. Funny how he turns up so late."

They started walking again.

"Did you tell Hermione?"

"Tell her what?"

"That he was a Death Eater – the pilot I mean."

"No. I don't want to worry her anymore than she is right now."

"Are you sure that's wise? I would think that she would want to know that there's the possibility of a Death Eater attack."

"The way things go, our wands are useless in here, and in the pyramid itself. If we pretend he's a happy guy with no criminal intent, he won't treat us as if we're his next victim," said Seto, "_If _he's a Death Eater, he pretty much has everyone fooled to think he isn't, so we might as well not blow his cover."

"What about when we all get out. We could be ambushed," said Yugi.

"Magic doesn't work in the pyramid, so we're all at the same level. They can't curse us, we can't jinx them. Worse thing that could happen is that someone falls back into the game. If Brisbane's as bad as I think he is…and starts to show it once we get out, there's six of us, and one of him. With Joey and Tristan on _our _side, I doubt he stands a chance."

"This is all so…overwhelming," said Yugi, "I'm not exactly sure what's true or not."

"It could all be true – it could all me some mindless fantasy my head is creating," said Seto, "But we don't know Brisbane enough to fully trust him, and after all we went through at Hogwarts – and even before that, you can't trust anyone right away."

"So what are you going to do about the pilot?"

"He's a Death Eater, Gozaburo's a Death Eater, and there could be countless others close to me or Mokuba who are waiting for the perfect time to strike. Once I get back to the office I'm going through every employee file under the roof of Kaiba Corp."

"That's a lot of files…" Yugi said as they made it back to the others. While they were gone, someone had made a small to keep them warm.

"For all I know, Gozaburo could be parading around as Mokie for all I know. I'm tired of all of all of these surprises."

"Well, I don't blame you, but we can only take this one step at a time," said Yugi, sitting down beside Joey, "But for now, we have to focus on getting out of here. I don't know about you, but I need some good shuteye."

* * *

Inside the castle, in some sort of throne room, a guardsman was kneeling before a single golden chair. The chair was encrusted with gems of all shapes, sizes and colors. Sitting upon the throne was a scepter – also coated in numerous jewels – and a headdress. The headdress was pure black with a large emerald in the center. The emerald gave a bright green glow and a voice seemed to speak from it.

"What is your report, Graydon?"

The man called Graydon looked up at the throne, "The castle is secure, My Lady. If there is something else you desire?"

"Yes. I have sensed strange things in the woods. I feel the prophecy is coming true. The arrival of strangers will eventually match me with one compatible. Soon I will no longer be cursed to live, trapped in this crown. Once I have a body, the Rebellion will be crushed and all will bow down before me!"

"Lady Vaasth, are you sure your match will be in this group of newcomers? The last group to come was only a man in red and his five other companions."

"Silence, Graydon. Something seems different about these…as if they contain some sort of magic. However, they will see that no matter how powerful, _no one _is stronger than I!"

"You _are _the strongest sorceress I have ever seen, My Lady. Your victory over the Rebellion will bring a new sense of order to the cities."

"Yes, Graydon…now, I want you to find out about these newcomers. Scout about, but do not arouse them. When I clear you, take a small team and bring back anything of importance – including a match. You _are_ the greatest seeker in the land, I trust you to do a superior job. If there is resistance, use force – but do not kill. I want to know what I am up against – perhaps these people are not of the Resistance Movement, but have never been here before either. Be wise – now leave me."

"Yes, My Lady…would you like someone to take you to your chambers?"

"…Yes. You may do so, Graydon. I simply cannot wait to have my body back. I will be so much stronger with it. Blast that curse that destroyed me."

"Do not fear, Lady Vaasth," said Graydon, as he walked down a large hall with the scepter and headdress in his hands, "Soon your new body will be better than the old."

"Yes…it will be…I will be sure of that."

* * *

The man called Graydon rode on his horse out of the city and towards the woods. _If there is the possibility of helping Lady Vaasth recover her lost powers, I _will _find it before the night is over. She puts her faith in me, and I will not let her down._

Off in the distance, Graydon noticed a flickering light, and turned in the direction of the glow. He tied the reins of his horse to the nearest tree and set off on foot. Cursing as he stumbled over a 

fallen branch, he walked alone through the woods. Finally, after avoiding a few, small woodland creatures, Graydon found the small campsite, and had to suppress a snicker.

His eyes first fell on Joey, who was snoring, hugging a fallen tree branch with his mouth wide open. Graydon was sure something would nest in there before the night ended. His eyes then traveled to Tristan, who seemed to be hugging his left foot in his sleep. _What strange people,_ Graydon thought. His eyes wandered next to Alex, but Graydon didn't see anything remarkably strange about him, so he moved on. Next were Yugi, Seto, Hermione and Tea.

_That boy…has very interesting hair! Three colors all spiked together! I've never seen anything like it! Oh, what's this? He wears a strange trinket. It looks completely out of gold – a gift for Lady Vaasth perhaps._

Then he gasped. _This girl – has the description of Lady Vaasth! Of all these months of searching, the match is here! _Graydon ran back to his horse and rode off in the direction of the city.

Seto opened his eyes. He could have sworn he heard someone running before. Using the fire as his light source, Seto looked about, trying to find someone, but he couldn't. He started to get up, but felt weight on his shoulder. Hermione was using his shoulder as a pillow. Leaning back against his tree stump, he tried going back to sleep.

* * *

Alex was the first to wake the following morning. Stretching, he set off in search of water. After wandering for some time, he found a small stream. While at the stream, he pulled some sort of object with a navy button on it from his pocket. He pushed the button and replaced the object in his pocket.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a scroll, rolled up and stuck to a tree branch. Removing it from the tree, he hurried back to the others, eager to return home.

When he returned, everyone else was awake.

"Where were you?" asked Yugi.

"I was looking for some water. There's a stream down that way. While there I found our final riddle!"

Everyone gathered around Brisbane as he read the clue aloud.

"_End the Lady's reign and recover the lost, _

_But beware the victorious cost."_

"'Victorious cost'?" asked Tristan, "How can there be a cost to victory? And what's been lost? We just got here!"

"Well, that aside, we have to end some lady's reign. I'm guessing whoever it is, is in that castle up there," said Tea.

"It must be near impossible to get in," said Hermione, "Castles are usually heavily guarded."

"Well, we don't have a time limit on this one, so we have time to think it through," said Yugi.

* * *

Graydon ran through the castle and stopped at the throne room. Gasping for breath, he nodded to the guard at the door, "Tell Lady Vaasth that Graydon is here to see her."

The guard opened the door, but before he could say anything, the sorceress's voice spoke, "Let him in."

"Yes, My Lady."

"Well," said Vaasth. She was on her throne, "What news?"

Graydon bowed and looked at the chair. He found it strange to have to talk to a scepter and headdress. "I think I found a match. The newcomers are in the thick of the forest. There are two girls. One of them looks almost like you did, when you had your old body."

"Oh, excellent news!" she exclaimed, "But…she isn't old is she?"

"Oh, no, she isn't old at all. Can't be older than twenty."

"Wonderful," the voice sighed, "It's been so long since I've truly felt young."

"We can go out as soon as you're ready, My Lady."

"Excellent – I want you to leave immediately. Take them by surprise Graydon, and no screw-ups."

* * *

Gozaburo still remained in the same room as before – this time five other men were with him. He tapped a pen against the tabletop, bored, when a small beep came to his attention. He reached into his red suit and pulled out a device similar to the one Alex held. This one, however, had no button but was flashing a yellow light.

Gozaburo got up, "It's time. Meet at the entrance to the pyramid in no later than ten minutes."

* * *

They were still in the forest. Alex went to look for some food to satisfy Joey and Tristan – both of whom were flat on the ground moaning and holding their stomachs as if they were going to fall off. Seto was sitting against a log fiddling with his magic glove, and Yugi was trying to explain the rules of Duel Monsters to Hermione without his cards with him while Tea watched.

Yugi glanced at Joey and Tristan, who were still moaning on the ground, "You can't be hungry, Joey. You just ate all that fruit two challenges ago."

"That didn't last! I used that up with the last challenge!"

"Wheeler, I swear you eat more food in one sitting than Mokuba does sweets while on a sugar rush."

"Maybe you need to eat more, Kaiba!" Joey snickered.

Seto rolled his eyes, "You probably eat twice a humpback whales weight in a day."

Tristan stopped moaning for a moment and looked at his friend, "Actually, I think he surpassed that at one point, didn't you Joey?"

Joey glared at Tristan, "It's nobody's business how much I eat…"

"It's entertaining to watch though," said Tea, "Remember the food fight you nearly caused in the cafeteria with Duke that one time?"

"Oh yea…"

Alex returned and sat against a tree.

"Did you find anything?" asked Joey as his stomach gave a large growl. Alex shook his head. "Aw man! I'm gonna be starvin' till we leave here!"

"At least you ate in the fourth challenge," said Tristan, "I'm so hungry _I_ could eat a humpback whale."

"You couldn't eat something that big, Tristan," said Yugi, "maybe half of a whale, but only Joey could eat a whole whale."

"Actually, Yugi, remember Ron?"

"Ron Weasley? Oh, yea. He eats a lot too. He could probably give Joey a run for his title."

"What title, Yug'?"

"Only the biggest pig in Domino…"

"No one asked you, Kaiba!"

"It's true…"

"Ahem," said Alex, "Since there isn't much else to do, perhaps we should figure out this riddle and get out of here."

"Sounds good to me," said Tea.

"Well, it seems we have to find something taken away from us and defeat some crazy lady in the castle. The riddle itself isn't hard to figure out," said Seto.

"Yea, but we didn't lose anything," said Tristan.

"We just got here last night," said Hermione, "Odds are, whatever we're going to lose hasn't happened yet."

"Then when will it happen? Whoever takes our stuff better have food…"

"Joey!"

The sound of someone – or something approaching alerted everyone's ears. Joey and Tristan finally got off the ground and prepared to summon their capsules. Yami took control from Yugi, preparing to activate his Duel Armor if needed.

The noises turned out to be footsteps, and they were fast approaching.

"Maybe we should get out of here," said Tea.

"Sounds like a good idea," said Joey, "I don't know if these people are friendly, but if they're not, I don't want to stick around." With Joey and Tristan leading the pack, they headed down the forest path, but were soon blocked by four men. On their arms were what seemed to be capsule shooters, but they wore no capsule holders.

"Alright then, that way's blocked, so let's try this way." Tristan started to head through the trees, but there two burly men there as well.

"We seem to be surrounded!" Alex exclaimed, looking around him. There were a total of fifteen men – soldiers by the look of them – around the group.

One of them was Graydon and he made a step forward towards the girls, who backed away behind Seto, "We mean no trouble, strangers. We are here on official business."

"Really," said Yami. _Official business means surrounding us with armed men? _"What business would this be?"

"I have orders from Lady Vaasth to find her match. It is the only way to bring peace and order to the city."

"What match?" asked Joey, "Why does she need a match?"

"Lady Vaasth was cursed and the only way to be freed was to bring her match to the castle."

"If you need one girl, why are there fifteen of you?" Seto narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling that somehow things would get violent.

"We must bring the girls to the castle to see if they match Lady Vaasth," said Graydon.

"Aw, come on, Graydon," said one of the men close to Tea and Hermione, "Stop being such a nice guy. You know which one we need and what we can do with the rest of 'em so let's get this over with." He gave the girls a lopsided, crooked grin.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Alex. He didn't like where this was going.

Most of the men were armed with more than the strange capsule shooters. They began to close in on the group, forming a small circle.

"The odds don't look good," Joey muttered.

"Yea, but we've got our capsules," said Tristan, "Besides; our amazing fighting skills are more than a match."

"I wonder who's going to make the first move," Joey whispered back.

He didn't have to wait long. The man who spoke before suddenly reached out and grabbed Hermione, using his arms to restrain her.

"Get off me!" she shrieked, struggling

"Let's have some fun with the others," he said, smirking at her.

Hermione glared back, "I said get off!" She raised her foot and brought her heel down hard on the very top of her captor's foot.

Howling in pain, he was thrown off guard long enough for Seto to whack him right in the jaw. Before long there was no time to summon any monsters and fists were flying.

Yami tried to tap into the powers of his Millennium Puzzle, but remembered that the strange world limited his abilities. He was able to stun three of the assailants with Shadow Magic.

"I tried to be peaceful about it," said Graydon, engaged in a swordfight with Seto, who had already single handedly taken out two large men.

"Somehow, it didn't work out," smirk Seto, blocking a blow. Finally, he was able to disarm Graydon.

The attackers' numbers were starting to fall. Soon it was even seven on seven.

Someone reached out to grab Tea, but she quickly retaliated by biting her attacker – and then she reached out and kicked the man in the chest.

"You are a formidable opponent," said Graydon, panting. Somehow, he had gotten his sword back, and the clanging of metal had continued, "But the time for child's play has ended." Quickly, he pushed a button on his strange shooter and something silver shot out and fastened itself to Seto's shoulder. Seto lowered his guard for a moment to look what had hit him when it suddenly activated.

All of a sudden, it seemed as if all five heads of the Fiendish Five (perhaps two five-headed dragons) had attacked him head on.

Shouting out in pain, Seto tried to grab the silver object from his jacket, but started to lose consciousness. He heard Hermione scream out in pain as she was hit with the same object when everything went black…

* * *

Yugi opened his eyes groggily. He had been hit with a strange object…that was all he could remember. He remembered hearing Tea's scream as he fell. He looked around, sitting up.

_The riddle! Things are missing!_

Joey's capsule belt (and his monsters) was missing, as was Seto's glove, along with...

_My Millennium Puzzle!_ Yugi looked around again, to see if it had only fallen off, but it was nowhere in sight. Everyone else was still unconscious except for.

"Oh no!" Yugi said, although no one else could hear, "Hermione's gone!"

* * *

I hope all of the formatting was entered in here correctly. I added this so close to midnight it might end up on the fifth (but I finished it on the 4th! Deadline met!)

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (now are missing)

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu

Today's the 4th of July! Happy 232nd birthday, America! The purple button – along with its filing duties, also organizes birthday cards – though by the time anyone reads this, it'll be the July 5th.


	13. Chapter 13

Happy Friday everyone! I think this is by far the largest chapter I've ever made. Seems these chapters are getting larger and larger…

As you know, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. If you don't know who owns them by now, after a total of 35 total chapters in this series…that's sad. But I'll say it anyway. Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

/Blah/ is spirit to host

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all are missing)

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu

* * *

Chapter 13

Yugi scrambled to his feet and looked around wildly to see if any clues were left behind. Looking down at his Duel Armor, the spiky-haired teen pulled the strange silver object off of him. Turning it over in his fingers, Yugi examined what had caused him to collapse. _It doesn't seem lethal_, he thought, as the thing gave out a final spark and died, _ouch! I wonder if this took out the rest of us…_

Yugi walked around, peering at everyone. Seto had one of the strange objects stuck to his shoulder. There was another on Tea's wrist and Alex's leg. Tristan and Joey didn't seem to have any on them. He remembered the man who had first attacked Hermione (and was now sporting a near-broken foot) hit her in the side.

_I wish Yami was here…I can't believe they took the Millennium Puzzle! What if they break it? What if they melt the Puzzle down? What if – calm down, Yugi. Odds are, they think the Millennium Puzzle is an antique something and they're keeping it with other treasures…I hope…_

Yugi sat back against a tree, and looked at the mysterious silver object again. _This small thing caused so much pain. It felt as if I stuck my hair in an electric socket!_

Joey began to stir. "Nyeh, what hit me?"

"Joey, are you okay?" asked Yugi, sitting next to him.

"I think so…man, what happened? Last thing I remember was Tristan tellin' me to look out."

"We've all been unconscious for some time," said Yugi, "I guess those guys attacked us and left. But now our test is in full motion. Remember the riddle?"

"Gotta get rid of someone or something and a cost…"

"Yea, but we also have to find what we lost. Those guys took prizes," said Yugi. He pointed to where the Millennium Puzzle usually hangs around his neck, "They took my Millennium Puzzle!"

"That ain't good." Joey looked around, to see if anything else was missing, "Hang on. We're missing a part of our team. What'd they want with Hermione?"

"I think it was something that one man said – some lady needed her match in the castle. That's probably where your friend is," said Alex, rubbing his head, "How long was I out?"

"Long enough."

Yugi walked over to Tea and plucked the silver object from her wrist. He then made to take the one off of Seto when the teen in question began move. Clutching his left upper arm, he sat on a nearby tree stump to get his bearings. Blinking back against the sunlight, Seto yanked the silver thing off him and looked at it.

"You ok?" asked Yugi.

Seto nodded, "You get hit with this thing, too?"

"Yea," Yugi held up his own silver circle, "It felt so…horrible! Like someone stuck me in a wall socket!"

"Not what this one felt like," Seto threw his down on the ground, "That one felt like I was back with the Fiendish – where's my glove?"

"There are a couple of things missing. My Millennium Puzzle, your glove, Hermione, and Joey's capsule belt, all gone."

"What's missing? Oh, great! Now I've got no monsters!"

"Hermione's gone?" Now that Seto could see straight, he looked among the rest of the group, and there was no sign of her.

Yugi had a vague idea of what was going through the CEO's head at this point, "Don't worry. We'll get her back."

"If those morons do anything to her.…" Seto said in a low, threatening voice, "They're _dead_."

Tristan moaned, "Aw man…what'd I eat last night?"

"Don't be stupid, Tristan," Joey snapped, "We've got a real situation here!"

"Oh right – we're still in this place. Boy I'm hungry and – what happened to your belt?"

"Stuff was taken from us and now we have to get it back to complete the trial thing…"

"Oh. I guess that's where Hermione is, huh?"

"Along with Seto's glove and my Millennium Puzzle, probably," said Yugi.

"So what do we do now?" asked Tea.

"We could go into the village," said Alex thoughtfully, "Perhaps the townspeople are willing to help us."

"Or they could turn us in to this Lady Vaasth, or whatever her name is," said Tristan.

Seto cocked an eyebrow at him, "I would think that you would be delighted to go to the village, Taylor. Aren't you hungry enough to eat half a whale?"

"…Yea…let's go to the village!" Joey and Tristan ran down the forest path toward the large castle overlooking the village.

"They're going to get us all in trouble, I can see it now," Seto muttered. Yugi ran forward to tell the two clowns to slow down.

* * *

A cool, yet comfortable breeze blew through the open French doors from a high balcony on the sunny side of the castle. The breeze flew about the room, bringing Hermione to her senses. Squinting, she opened her eyes and realization hit her that she was no longer in the forest with her friends.

Sitting up, she looked around. She was on a big and very soft and comfortable bed in a large room. The curtains at the French doors were blowing softly in the wind. A full length mirror was on the opposite wall, along with a make-up desk and seat. The floor was of a dark wood, gleaming against the sun. A maid was on the other side of the room – her back to Hermione – dusting paintings on the wall. Swinging her legs over the side, Hermione got up and walked over to the balcony. The room was on a side overlooking the back of the castle. The castle grounds on that side led up to a cliff. Not far off in the distance, she could see a beautiful waterfall.

The sounds of her heels echoing off of the polished floor alerted the maid, who saw Hermione out on the balcony.

"Oh, dear, you're awake!" The maid rushed over and brushed stray grass and dirt from the girl's suit. "My, can't greet Lady Vaasth looking like the forest, can you? My, you have long and beautiful curls!" The lady was now brushing some stray something from Hermione's hair.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Tanny, dear, the maid. Well, one of the maids. I'm in charge of this room and the rest of the hall."

"Oh, erm…it's a very nice room…but why am I here?"

"You – you don't know?"

"My friends arrived here last night, and we were ambushed this morning by some very…creepy people. I remember someone grabbed me and I might have broken his foot…I was hit by something…" she trailed off and looked down at her side. The silver object was stuck to her jacket. Pulling it off, she held it out to the maid, "Do you know what this is?"

"Oh, my, they hit you with _this_? I'm so sorry, dear. This isn't something you shoot at innocent girls such as yourself!"

"Well, what is it?"

"They're shot out of those shooter things – similar to the one you wore, but not the same. They're used mostly for stopping enemies. Each one is a little different. It can be programmed to different things, see, and if you're the first to make contact with it once it leaves the shooter…well, see, it first clamps onto whatever it first hits. Then whatever it's programmed to do happens." Tanny took the silver object from Hermione's hand and examined it, "Usually you 

can't tell which thing it does – but they're all _supposed_ to stop someone dead in their tracks, and normally they're quite painful. Was it?"

Hermione nodded, staring at the floor. So much was being told to her, she was trying to make a sense of what was going on.

"Why am I here though?" she repeated.

Tanny sighed, "Well, Lady Vaasth can tell you herself. She made it _very_ clear that she wanted to see you once you awakened."

Hermione glanced back to the bed, "How long…"

"Oh, no more than some hours passed Graydon carried you in here. Lady Vaasth was worried that something was wrong when they brought you back unconscious like you were, but you seem fine now!"

Hermione was getting slightly annoyed that it was taking forever to get simple questions answered, but then again, she was talking to a maid. "Who is Lady Vaasth?"

"Ah, Lady Vaasth is a wonderful woman. Right now, the land is overcoming a Rebellion Movement, and she needs your help to stop the Rebels from taking over the city."

"Me? But why does she need me?"

"Well…you'll see when Lady Vaasth comes in. Oh my! She asked me to tell here once you woke, and here I am, chatty as ever! I must find Lady Vaasth! Feel free to look around the room, but please, stay in here!" The maid rushed out of the room.

Hermione went to the door and turned the handle. Locked. She then took a look at some of the expensive-looking furniture and objects. A large vase full of roses was on a table, under a painting of the castle and the waterfall she saw. Looking at herself in the mirror, she pulled a leaf out of her hair and brushed who-knows-what off of her skirt. Going back out of the room, she 

peered over the side of the balcony down. _I must be several floors up_, she realized. Servants far below were tending to the gardens leading toward the cliff's edge.

Footsteps were heard on the other side of the door, along with the click of a lock. The door slowly swung open.

Graydon entered first, and then the man from the forest whose foot she squashed. He was walking with a slight limp in his step. Graydon was holding a black crown with a large emerald in the center on a cushion. A scepter coated in gemstones was in his other hand. The man with the limp didn't close the door.

Graydon placed the cushion and the scepter on the nearest end table and turned to face his 'guest'.  
"I apologize for any…pain…that was caused to bring you to the castle," he said, glaring at his companion, "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

"Well, she deserved it," said the other man, glaring at Hermione. He took two steps forward towards her, and then Graydon stopped him from making any more moves. Hermione backed against the bed.

"Stop scaring her, Roan. 

You deserved that," he turned to Hermione, "We had orders to not harm you – or anyone else for that matter unless it was a last resort. Roan here…got carried away…." Graydon glared at Roan before turning back to Hermione, "Are you alright? Lady Vaasth was worried of your state when you arrived this morning."

He didn't wait for her to answer and then continued, "You must be hungry. I'll have Tanny bring you something."

Hermione gave him a quizzical look before he added, "Don't worry. We won't poison you. You're a guest here. Would the Lady think of you as anything less, you wouldn't be in such an elegant room."

_He has a point_, she thought. "Who is this Lady Vaasth I keep hearing about? Why does she need me?"

"_I _am Lady Vaasth," said the crown.

Hermione looked about.

"Lady Vaasth was cursed a year ago. She lives in her crown," Graydon explained, gesturing to the crown on the table, "She needs your help to regain her body."

"Why me?"

"There was a prophecy that a young sorceress from a far-off land would come to Syndrose and aid the cursed leader back to power," said Vaasth, "When you arrived, I could sense the magic you possess. You also bear a resemblance. If I could, I would show you, but at the moment, I'm only a hat. The last group who arrived here in Syndrose was 6 sorcerers. Despite that they were all men; none were compatible matches to give my life back."

"If you haven't had a body for this long, then who's running this place?" Hermione asked, "Someone has to preside over the people." Despite all of the things she went through with Harry and Ron, she found it quite awkward to be talking to a hat.

"I have," said Vaasth, "I haven't left the castle in ages, and now the people are starting to suspect I've lost my ability to reign. There's a great Rebelling Movement going on, and I can't have them succeed. I need this body to crush the rebels once and for all."

_This is starting to sound like one of those Muggle movies my uncle would watch…_ she thought to herself, and then she remembered her friends in the forest, "What about my friends? Did you hurt them all with these stupid silver things?"

"Stupid silver – Graydon! What exactly happened in the forest?"

"Roan got…excited and grabbed her, which caused her to hurt him back. He probably would have retaliated when the young man whose glove we confiscated squared him in the jaw. Then some of the other man started throwing fists.They all had those capsule monster things, but no one summoned anything. Although we started off with more numbers, they were gaining the upper hand. If I didn't strike the one boy down with the shooter, we would have lost!"

"Graydon…" Hermione could tell that Vaasth was not pleased by this.

"Wait – you took Seto's glove?"

"Along with a boy's monster belt and the shorter boy's strange necklace," said Graydon, "Here, there are spoils for the winners of fights – it's the way to survive. Your belt and shooter, along with the other's items are safe elsewhere in the castle." He turned back to Vaasth, "My Lady, you said failure was _not_ an option! I believe your words were 'no screw-ups'."

"…So I did. I see your point, Graydon. But _you,_ Roan, were not supposed to start a war! I will deal with you later!" Vaasth sighed, "This must be very awkward for you, dear. I think I have an idea! You possess magical powers, perhaps you can help. If you transfer a small – and I mean almost miniscule amount of your power to me, I might be able to appear. It will be ghostly, but at least you're not talking to a crown."

Hermione frowned, "Is there a catch?"

"No, no! All I need you to do is touch the crown. I'll see if I can do the rest. It's _only_ so you can see me…I promise."

Still wary, "You swear there's no catch?"

"I swear."

Slowly, Hermione approached the table, and after a moment's pause, placed her hand on the top of the crown.

Immediately, the scepter began to emit a red glow, and a ghostly image appeared next to Hermione, who immediately backed away from the table.

"My Lady, it worked!" exclaimed Graydon.

Lady Vaasth did indeed look similar to Hermione. She had the same long curly hair and her eyes seemed slightly darker. She was a tall woman, yet not as tall as Graydon, who was a hair shorter than Seto. She wore a long dress under a shimmering open cloak. The tiara she was trapped inside was sitting still on the table, next to the scepter.

"I can see that, Graydon, and Roan – stop staring. Now, dear, about your friends…I'm sure you've read the task they must complete?"

After Hermione's nod, the ghostly woman continued, "It seems they must defeat me to be able to leave. I'm afraid, since they are now enemies – they will be treated as such and will be considered threats, like the Rebels."

"Meaning they will either be imprisoned or _severely_ punished," said Roan.

"You can't do that!"

"I beg your pardon?" Vaasth cocked an eyebrow.

"My friends and I – we didn't mean to come here at all! Well, we were told to do these trials and such in order to go home!"

"But dear – you must realize, that even if I did nothing to your friends, you would never be able to leave."

"What?"

"First, I will need your assistance in regaining full control of my body. But, if someone plants the curse yet again, I will need you once more to undo the damage."

"You don't know that someone will curse you back to where you are now!"

"I know – but why risk? Another match may never come."

"I don't have to help you. For what you're planning, I don't want a part of it," Hermione said, turning away from Vaasth, trying to conceal the tears that were forming, "If you can't get a body, then the Rebellion will win. What you're planning seems too terrible for words, and I don't want to be in it at all!"

Vaasth gave a cold chuckle, "I'm afraid, my dear, that the choice has already been made for you. But don't worry, I'll allow you to see your friends one more time before they are stopped for good."

Vaasth beckoned toward the door. Hermione turned and watched Graydon grab the cushion holding the tiara and the scepter and left, followed by Roan, who slammed the door shut.

Hermione ran to the door and tried the knob. She was locked in once more. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she flung herself onto the bed and sobbed into a pillow.

* * *

Vaasth sat on her throne, still ghostly. Graydon placed her scepter and crown on the seat.

"How soon can the transfer be prepared?" she asked.

Graydon shrugged, "According to some old texts, you have two options."

"Two options?"

"Yes. One is to fully possess the other. What we'd probably do is have her wear your tiara. You'd be able to take control of the girl that way."

"Doesn't sound too difficult," Vaasth said, "What's the other way?"

"We can keep the two of you separate. You could drain her of her strength and powers and transfer it to you. If you get enough of her power, and with the help of an old spell text, you'd have your body to yourself."

"What about her?"

"She'll still be alive, but it'll take a while for her to regain her strength again. By the time she recovers, you'll have her friends and the Rebellion crushed."

"Either way, she's stuck here."

"Precisely, it all depends on what option you want."

"I think we'll let our guest pick. After all, not all choices have to be made for her." Vaasth peered upward towards the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she tapped into the scepters powers and was able to look into Hermione's room.

"My Lady?" Graydon had no idea why she was staring at the ceiling.

"She's in no state for anything now," said Vaasth, "She's crying up there. Have Tanny look after her and inform me after she's had a good rest. I won't do anything until at least tomorrow morning."

"Will you be able to hold off the excitement of a new body until tomorrow?"

"I've waited this long – one night shouldn't be too hard."

"My Lady, were you serious about letting her see her friends?"

"I believe so, why?"

"Do you think it wise to have them wandering through the castle? They might stumble upon their lost items – or find the room with the spare monster capsules in it."

"If they find their lost junk, it's of no consequence. The only known capsule to defeat me is safe in a secret location. Besides – even if one of those fools stumbled upon it, I have a weapon to bring them right to surrender."

"You do?"

"I'll be sure of it once I pay our guest one more visit – what was her name?"

"I don't believe I asked, but I think from my scouting mission that someone referred to her as 'Hermione'."

"She could be the key to our defeat – or our ultimate victory."

* * *

Joey and Tristan managed to wait for the others at the entrance to the village.

"What took you so long?"

"Shut up, Joey," said Tea, clutching her side, "I hope we don't run for a while. Why can't you two ever walk?"

"The hungry wait for no one!"

"You waited for us here," Alex laughed.

"You would think there would be a guard or someone here at the gate," said Seto, "there's no one here."

"Easy for us," said Joey.

"It could also be a trap," said Yugi, "Whoever is pulling the strings around here has Hermione at their clutches – there's no telling what they might do to get information on us."

"That weirdo who was the leader of that ambush said they needed some lady's match. What do you think that meant?" asked Tristan.

"He also said it was freedom from a curse or something," said Joey, "Maybe the bad guy wants us for a showdown at the castle!"

"We're still going to need a way in," said Tea, "Someone in the village _has _to be able to help us somehow."

They cautiously walked into the village. The townspeople out of their homes and small stores were either running into buildings or talking in small clumps. It seemed no one wanted to be out alone.

Someone in a group pointed at Yugi's Duel Armor and then ran up to them, "Are you guys the newcomers?" he asked.

"You could say that," said Alex, "Who are you?"

"Are you on _her_ side, or the right side?"

"The who side or what side?" asked Joey.

The man rolled his eyes, "When you arrived, was something taken from you?"

"Yes."

"Then you're not on _her_ side. Come with me before someone reports you to the castle."

He led them into a house they guessed was his own.

"My name is Darren," said the man, "I'm part of the Rebellion. I'm guessing you are the strangers who arrived here last night."

Yugi nodded, "Do you know anything about this Lady Vaasth?"

"Yes. She is the ruler of this land, called Syndrose. She's a sorceress, and uses her power and influence like a dictator. Her first challenger, many years ago, created a prophecy to destroy her. Only after strangers go to the castle to recover what was stolen from them (by the Lady, no doubt), they will have to defeat her, but there is usually a great cost to victory. However, one of 

the other strangers who passed through here didn't succeed in destroying her. He was killed in battle, but he _did_ manage to trap her within her own crown. Her powers are limited and she cannot use her evil scepter unless she has a new body."

"I guess that's what what's-his-name said about the whole match thing," said Alex.

"We've been trying to revolt, gathering people and weapons. We plan to eventually siege the castle before her match arrives," said Darren, "Only this morning, I heard many horses ride through the town from the forest. I hope someone didn't arrive today and was ambushed…"

"We were this morning," said Tea, "They stole some of our stuff – and they took one of our friends with them!"

"Did she have long brown hair, brown eyes, and possess some form of magic?"

Seto and Yugi both nodded.

Darren sighed, "We will have to work quickly. When Lady Vaasth realizes that you're going to come to the castle and rescue her – which I might be able to help you do – she might have her powers back."

He invited everyone to sit down in his living room. He disappeared into his kitchen area and returned with some mugs. "Something to drink?"

Seto sat in an armchair, "What do you think this Lady Vaasth will do to Hermione if she's the match?"

"Well, under a miracle, if she's not, there's the chance Hermione will be let go, but the odds are slim. Lady Vaasth doesn't bring strangers into the castle unless she's going to immediately destroy them, or if she's sure there's a match. If this girl _is_ the match, the sorceress will probably possess her body and use it to spread havoc upon us all."

"You think they'll hurt her?"

"I doubt it. If this Hermione is Lady Vaasth's match, she'll want her in as good of health as possible."

"You seem to know an awful lot about the castle," said Joey, "Have you been there before?"

"I have a spy in the castle. For his sake, I won't say who. He reports once a day. He usually comes at night, when Lady Vaasth is asleep."

Yugi looked down at himself, where the Millennium Puzzle usually sat, "Do you know where Vaasth keeps the stuff she takes?"

"I'm guessing in some remote part of the castle so no one just walks off with it. I see you – most of you wear those belt things with the monsters. Every stranger who has come through here has worn one, and all but the previous visitors failed to succeed. There's a rumor that the only monster strong enough to defeat Lady Vaasth is in her castle, hidden. She also supposedly has a collection of those monsters at her disposal."

Seto narrowed his eyes, but stared at the floor, "Who were the last ones to come through here?"

"There were six men – none of them extremely young. They came and conquered. They all wore the same type of attire, unlike you all. Beside the color difference, they all dressed like you are," Darren said, pointing at Seto's suit.

Seto was getting suspicious, "Was one of them in red?"

Darren thought back, "Let's see – this was a couple of weeks ago, but I think one of them was in red clothing. He wasn't one of the younger ones either."

"Did another one have a cane?"

Yugi looked at Seto, trying to figure out where the tall teen was going with his line of questions. Joey, Tristan, and Tea seemed just as baffled. Alex was glancing at Seto, a mix of worry and confusion on his face.

"One of them did have a cane," said Darren, thinking back, "Another one was in green – or I think it was green. I don't remember much about the other three, but one of those three wore glasses."

"When does this spy usually arrive?" asked Yugi.

"Well, he doesn't come here. This is a Rebellion safe-house. If Vaasth found out what he was up to, that would put my life and those who stay here in danger. We meet at some location. He usually reveals tactical information and any new weapons they receive. He is usually able to sneak one out so we can try to build them here."

"Can this spy of yours find out where our stuff is?" asked Tea.

"I can ask him tonight. Are you going to attack the castle?"

"Seems the only way we'll be able to go home is to defeat Vaasth, so yea," said Alex.

"Well, I can talk to some other leaders of the Rebellion and see if we can help. If you wait around a day or so, I'll have a definite answer for you. In the meantime, my home is your home. Make yourself comfortable."

Joey's stomach gave a loud rumble. Darren laughed, "Hungry, huh? Anyone else want something to eat?"

Tristan raised his hand so fast he whacked Joey in the head, "Oops."

Darren chuckled, "I'll go get something." He left the house and headed down the road.

Joey stretched out, "Finally, I'm gonna have something to eat!"

"Considering you ate before the last challenge, you need to keep food in you," said Alex, "I've never seen someone eat as much as you can and _still_ be hungry!"

"Welcome to Joey's world," Tea grinned.

Soon after, Darren arrived with a bag of food. He proceeded into the kitchen to prepare something.

"Oh man, something smells good," Tristan sighed.

"Need some help?" Tea called.

"No, no! You stay there, I'm almost done."

Darren came out bringing bowls of what looked like stew to the group. "Eat up," he said, "I know you must be starving, or at least those two are," he laughed.

Yugi smiled, "Thanks. Joey and Tristan are always hungry."

"Food is my life!" Joey declared. He and Tristan slapped a high five.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves," said Darren.

"I think this is the first time we've entered a strange village and there wasn't too much hostility," said Tea, "I mean we were attacked in the forest, but no one seems to want to kill us or…"

Darren smiled, "We're used to it now. Strangers have been coming for a while. The problem is that only a small percentage makes it out. Besides the last group, only one other group of strangers has made it out alive. The others either died here or turned, working for Lady Vaasth. You'd be surprised how many have 'turned in the towel'.

"I've welcomed all the strangers – against Lady Vaasth – here. It is their, well your chance to rejuvenate and prepare for what lies ahead. When my friend arrives from the castle tonight, I'll ask him to look for your friend and your lost items. I know you must be eager to go home." He looked outside, where the sun was setting, "the days are short here. It's best not to venture out at night. We're peaceful people, but thieves and other scum wander after dark. It's no burden for you to stay here. I'll get some rooms ready." Darren collected the empty bowls and went upstairs.

About ten minutes later he returned, "I've got a room for you," he said to Tea, and then he turned to the guys, "I have a room for three guys upstairs, the other two can stay here on the sofas. I'll let you guys pick. I'll come and wake you in the morning."

"Well, who's gonna settle for the sofa?" asked Joey, "'Cause I sure don't want to."

"Relax, Wheeler. I'll stay here."

"Suit yourself, Moneybags."

"You guys go on," said Yugi, "I'll stay down here too."

"You sure, Yug'?"

"Yea, you three go upstairs."

"If you say so," said Tristan as he followed Tea, Joey and Brisbane after Darren.

When the others were out of earshot, Yugi turned to his rival-turned friend, "What do you think?"

"Gozaburo's been through here, I bet. Darren was able to ramble off three identities. Gansley, Crump, and Johnson, along with Gozaburo."

"Could have been anyone though…"

"Anyone? Six anyones who all happen to wear business attire? One of them has a cane, one wears green, and one has glasses. Let's think about this. Gansley's anciently old – he needs a cane. Crump likes three things in life: penguins, numbers and green. Every day he entered Kaiba Corp, he wore a green suit. Johnson wears glasses. Gozaburo wears red. And none of them are very young."

"But why would they come in here?" Yugi sighed, "It doesn't make sense!"

"Gozaburo probably heard of the power this pyramid hides. He probably wasn't able to grasp it, so he had us do his dirty work. He probably set the plane up to crash."

"I can see where this fits together, but we can't worry too much about that now," said Yugi. He sat down in a large squashy armchair and curled up, "Tomorrow we'll see what this spy knows and try to plan a way to rescue Hermione and get out of here."

Darren came into the room as Yugi was starting to fall asleep in the chair, "I saw your hand and it doesn't look good. I could fix it up for you, if you wish."

Though determined to find a way into the castle one way or another, Seto was too tired from the morning's attack to argue. He nodded and held out his hand. Using his left, Seto loosened his tie and unbuttoned his jacket. He heard Darren gasp at the words branded into his skin, but said nothing. A few minutes later, his hand was fit with new bandages.

"Sleep well," said Darren and he returned upstairs.

Seto stared out the window. The castle was well-lit in the darkness, the only thing seeable in the night. _No matter what it takes, I'll find you, Hermione._ Lying down on the couch he closed his eyes, even though he wouldn't be able to sleep.

* * *

By now, the workers and guards of the castle knew Lady Vaasth was wandering around like a ghost, but they still couldn't help but stare in disbelief as they saw their ruler ghostly walk past.

She drifted past a window and stopped to take a look at the darkened city. A few street lamps were lit here and there. Some houses were lit from their yards or windows; others darkened as their inhabitants slept away.

She made her way up a few flights of stairs and then headed toward the back side of the castle. The back side faced the waterfall and the gardens – it was the pretty side of the castle. It also housed all of the bedrooms in the entire castle. She stopped outside the door on the end of the 

hall. The guard outside was asleep. Normally, she would have him punished on the spot, but at the current moment, there was no immediate threat inside.

Walking through the door, Vaasth entered the room. _Tanny must have been in here_, she thought. A tray of untouched food was on the bedside table. The French balcony doors were shut and the curtains drawn.

Vaasth moved closer to the bed. Hermione had fallen asleep some time ago, and the tears had long since stopped. _Poor girl, I'd rather not do this to you, but I have no choice. Let's see what's keeping you so distraught. _The sorceress placed a hand on Hermione's forehead and closed her eyes. Memories of all kinds began to unfold before her eyes.

_Hermione's fifth birthday…_

_Visiting relatives in America…_

_Her first report card (straight A's)…_

_Her seventh Christmas…_

_Going to the movies with her parents…_

_Her letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…_

_Telling Ron he had dirt on his nose on the Hogwarts Express…_

_The sorting ceremony…_

_Harry and Ron saving her from the troll in the bathroom…_

_Harry's first Quidditch match and setting Professor Snape's robes on fire…_

_The third floor…_

_Fluffy drooling on Ron…_

_Meeting Gilderoy Lockheart at Flourish and Blotts…_

_Malfoy calling her a Mudblood and Ron's quick defense – burping slugs…_

Vaasth chuckled at that, and then pressed on to some more recent memories.

_The Department of Mysteries…_

_Her, Harry, Ron and Remus meeting Yugi, Seto, Ryou, and Marik for the first time…_

_Her shock at Umbridge being the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher yet again. She grabbed onto Seto making them both blush…_

_Mokuba's sneaky birthday party for Seto…_

_Halloween Costume contest…_

_Meeting Mr. Muto and spending Christmas in Japan…_

_Seto's background story and finding Death Eaters at the Kaiba mansion…_

_Kidnapped by portkey to Voldemort's hidey-hole…_

_Waking up in the hospital wing months later…_

_Malfoy's attack in the Entrance Hall…_

_Seto's shouting match with Umbridge…_

_Seto and Hermione's first kiss…_

_The Muggle Massacre in London, breakout from Azkaban and the letter of her parent's deaths…_

_Malfoy's second attack, this time disguised as Seto…_

_Malfoy's third attack, Seto struck down by Snape, Dumbledore's death…_

_Dumbledore's funeral…_

_Grangers' funeral…_

_Visiting her house…_

_The plane crash…_

_Entering the Pyramid…_

_Nearly getting squashed by a bug…_

_Turning to stone…_

_Her chat with Tea while Seto and Yugi rested in the cave…_

_Battling Joey…_

_Riding through the maze on Tristan's crazy monster…_

_Defending the city from the Fiendish Five…_

Vaasth pulled away. _Not only do I know about her friends…I know what monsters they possess. Defeating them will be easier than I anticipated!_

* * *

The sun streamed through the windows of Darren's house, shining right onto Yugi's face. The small boy opened his eyes and looked around for some sort of clock, but he couldn't find one. Seto was already up, in the kitchen talking to Darren over a pot of coffee.

"Good morning," said Darren, "Sleep well?"

"Better than the woods," said Yugi, "Did your friend say anything about what's going on at the castle?"

"We were discussing that," said Seto. Yugi noticed he was staring out the window towards the castle.

"It appears Lady Vaasth has found her match. She plans to be reunited with a body today, by some means. According to him, the most time it will take her to be at full power is in two days."

"So we only have two days to organize and strike the castle?" asked Yugi.

Darren nodded, "The situation looks pretty grim – unless we can find a way to sneak into the castle and sabotage something beforehand."

"How would we do that?"

"I could talk to our spy and see what he could do. The earliest we could do anything would be tomorrow."

"Unless you can get your buddy down here earlier," said Seto.

"It's too risky. He's pretty high up in Vaasth's chain of command. He'd be risking himself and all of us to leave during the day."

"How do you know he's not a double agent?"

Darren turned to face Seto, "What do you mean?"

Seto took his gaze off of the window, "If he's that high up, how do you know he isn't feeding info about your rebellion to Vaasth?"

"When he comes, he only gives information. He never asks what's going on here," said Darren, "The only thing he knows about us is that he meets a cloaked figure every night. No name exchanged. If he was caught, Vaasth wouldn't learn anything."

_Let's hope…_Yugi thought.

* * *

Hermione woke to the sound of someone turning the lock in the door. Leaning on the headboard, she rubbed her eyes as Tanny walked in, a tray in her hands.

"Good morning, dear," said Tanny, "I have some breakfast for you. You must be hungry after not touching any of the food I left yesterday."

"You left food yesterday?"

"Mhmm. Right there on the table, see, though I suspect it's all cold now. You'd better eat up, you have a…interesting day ahead…now, now! Don't give the food that suspicious look! I prepared it myself and I have orders from Lady Vaasth. I can't leave this room until you eat a 

decent amount of something!" Tanny then opened the French doors to let the cool air flow into the room.

Tanny began humming a random tune stuck in her head as she went about dusting and fixing up the room. When she finished watering plants on the balcony, she saw that one of the plates of food had been eaten.

Hermione walked out onto the balcony, "Those gardens are so beautiful," she said.

Tanny smiled, "They are. I can see if Lady Vaasth will let you see them – from the ground. It's a shame that you're all cooped up in this room all the time."

Hermione was shocked, "Y-you'd do that for me?"

Tanny gave her a sympathetic smile, "You're not the first visitor here who's been against her will. Lady Vaasth has brought all sorts here in hopes of regaining her lost body, but none were compatible enough. Those girls are long gone now."

"What happened to them?"

"Only one managed to escape – that was before Graydon became Lady Vaasth's Head of the Guard and the expert Seeker he is now."

"Seeker?"

"It's a name to describe someone who hunts a lot. Anyway, Lady Vaasth tried regaining her body through some of the other girls, but they died in the process. Apparently, there wasn't enough magic in them. A few others rebelled against Lady Vaasth, but were killed trying to escape and one other stayed in the castle, swearing eternal loyalty."

"Is she still here?"

"Yes," said Tanny, sadly, "She's a gardener now; she takes care of the bushes near the cliff's edge. Lady Vaasth treats her very well."

"How did that one girl escape?" Hermione asked. If she could escape – or at least stall for time, it would give the rest of the gang a chance to find her and defeat Vaasth.

"She jumped off of her balcony," said Tanny, "Mind you, she was at least a level below and was situated close enough to the lake that was able to dive in. She let the water drift her far enough to be able to find her other companions and then they weakened Lady Vaasth, enabling them to escape."

"How did she survive that fall?"

"It's still a mystery. Oh my! I have to report to Lady Vaasth. I'm past reporting time! I'll be back later, dear."

Tanny picked up the food tray and left.

Hermione looked down. _Wish there was water below _my _window…_

The door opened once more, admitting Graydon. He walked over to the balcony, standing next to Hermione.

"Lady Vaasth requests your presence," said Graydon.

She didn't turn to look at him. Before he spoke, she wasn't even sure who entered the room; she continued to stare out at the gardens below, "Is it really a request, or a demand?"

"Both."

"She can demand all she wants. I'm not a slave," she said, "I don't _have_ to go anywhere."

"I know this is hard for you, I know how you feel...what you must be going through but –"

"No you don't!" Hermione finally turned to face him, fire in her eyes, "You have no idea what's it like, stranded on an island and being thrust into a sick game where the only way out is to pass six dangerous trials, and now – when you only want nothing more to go home, you're whisked away from your friends and told you're going to be some sort of sacrifice! Plus, even if everyone else can make it out, you have to stay behind for the remote chance you'll be needed again, against your will! How can you say you know how I feel? You have no idea!"

Graydon wasn't sure exactly how to counter that.

"What you're doing isn't right! You're going to hurt innocent people!" Hermione said, "The people are rebelling because they want change. Maybe they're right. Perhaps this place needs a new ruler."

"The rebellion has no strength – it will be broken," said a voice from the doorway. It was Roan. "What's taking you so long, Graydon?"

"Nothing. We were just leaving," said Graydon.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "And when did you come to that conclusion? There's no way I'm going with you."

"Like it or not, Missy, you're ordered to come," said Roan. He walked over and grabbed her upper arm, "Let's go."

"Vaasth can demand what she wants from you, but not me!" She brought her foot down on Roan. He let go of her immediately, cursing under his breath. He reached out for her again, but she shoved him into Graydon, who lost his balance at the balcony and toppled over the edge, clinging to the rail. By the time Roan got to his senses again, his other foot was in tremendous pain and Hermione had fled the room.

* * *

Hermione ran down the hall, stopping around corners to make sure she wouldn't run into the guards. Spying a staircase to the left, she took it down as far as it would go. The door at the bottom of the stairs was locked. _Oh no…_Hermione looked around frantically. _If only my wand worked…wait! If my magic gave that witch a body – though ghostly – perhaps…_

Hermione took her wand out of her inside pocket. Slapping it against her hand frantically, she gasped as a few sparks came out. She aimed it at the door. "Alohamora!"

Thankfully, to her relief, the door swung open. Scared, she peered out.

She was in, what looked like a very large closet. There didn't seem to be anything of value there, except for…

_What the – why is Yugi's Puzzle here?_

She placed it around her neck and went out the door on the other side. Closing and locking every door she went through, Hermione finally found the way outside. She was in the gardens.

"Hey! Down there!"

Roan was trying to help Graydon get back in the room when he spotted her down below.

Hermione ran for the trees, but stopped when a silver object flew just past her ear. She turned. Guards were shooting at her!

Raising her wand, she said the first spell that came to her mind. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The other guards stopped shooting when they saw their leader raised into the air.

"Hey! Put me down!" he cried.

"Gladly," she muttered. She used her wand to send him flying into the castle wall, and while avoiding silver object shooting at her, stunned the other guards. Then she dashed through the trees.

* * *

Graydon entered the room Vaasth was in, and she looked furious.

"Graydon! What happened?"

"She escaped. She overpowered Roan and…"

"How did she overpower _him_?"

"She broke his other foot."

"Oh. Then what?"

"She sent me over her balcony and fled. Roan saw her escape through the trees leading to the cliff."

"Then she's trapped. Send a group to find her and do it fast."

"There's something else. She used her magic to escape. She made a guard rise into the air, and then threw him far into the castle wall."

"She is powerful. Maybe we can sway her to our side. But now, make sure you find her and fast!"

* * *

Hermione paused in the woods to catch her breath. _Oh, I am _so_ glad I wore heels to run in. I need some fuzzy slippers…or maybe a foot massage._

She looked down at the Millennium Puzzle. "Yami?" she asked, "You in there?"

Deep inside the Millennium Puzzle, Yami was pounding on his soul door, trying to find a way out when he heard a familiar voice.

"_Yami, you in there?"_

"Hermione?"

Hermione looked around. She heard the Pharaoh, but couldn't see him.

"Hermione, close your eyes and concentrate on seeing me."

She did so, and opened them when she heard him say to. She was in a corridor. On one side was a room, locked. On the other side was a door with the Eye of Horus on it. Yami appeared in the corridor.

"Good to see a familiar face," he said.

"No time. I was kidnapped and the Puzzle was stolen. Can you get me to the others?"

Yami sighed, "I would if I could. My powers are limited because Yugi isn't wearing the Puzzle. I was able to establish a weak link here. Also, I can't get to Yugi and the others if I'm not in control. Without Yugi, the only thing I can do is hopefully get you in the right direction."

Hermione frowned, "Oh. But can you come out as a spirit?"

"I can try – I might need to take some of your energy to do it."

"Go ahead."

"Concentrate on the outside world and I'll see what I can do," said the Pharaoh.

When Hermione returned out, Yami was phased out next to her. "I'm trying to drain as much energy as possible from you. I'll fly out and see where the village is. Odds are, that's where Yugi is."

Hermione nodded as Yami soared upward. She sat on a large rock and waited for him to come back.

He returned with a grimace, "These trees mostly lead to the cliff, but we might be able to get to the village by going that direction, toward the castle."

"No! I just came from there!"

"Well, anyone searching for you wouldn't think that you would come back. At least I hope not. Can you make a Portkey?"

"I don't know if I can. I've never made one before."

"Wouldn't hurt to try," said Yami, "I have to return to the Puzzle. If you collapse, we both lose."

Hermione nodded as Yami disappeared.

Voices were heard off in the distance.

"She's got to be in here somewhere…"

"Think Lady Vaasth will reward us?"

"Ha! In your dreams, Karkon!"

Hermione waved her wand at a fat tree branch. Thinking hard of the city of Syndrose, she muttered, "Portus."

Grabbing onto the branch, she let out a sigh of relief as she felt the familiar tug as she zipped away.

* * *

Darren was entertaining his guests on how he won a trophy sitting on his mantle when they heard a commotion outside.

"What could be going on," said Darren. They all moved toward the window. A crowd was forming in the middle of town. They all went outside.

"What's going on?" asked Darren, moving toward the crowd.

"She just appeared out of nowhere!"

"Is she ok?"

"Look at that gold object around her neck!"

"She looks like Lady Vaasth!"

Yugi and his friends began pushing through the crowd. Yugi stopped short. The first thing he saw wasn't the person, but what was around her neck.

"My Millennium Puzzle!"

"Hermione!" Seto ran forward with Yugi and the others and knelt beside her. Some of the crowd backed away.

"Seto!" Hermione threw her arms around him in a tight hug. She then turned to the rest of the gang, "I've missed you so much," she said. Looking at the tree branch on the ground, she pointed her wand at it. "Finite…Finite Incantatem," she said weakly, before collapsing into Seto's arms.

* * *

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all are missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all are missing)

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu

See ya next week!


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the extremely late update…for some reason this chapter was much harder to think up than the last couple. Hopefully the others come to me faster. On a very different side note, I got a review from Tom Riddle's Item. Apparently, with my ultra-intelligent bogus ways, I skipped Chapter 4! It goes from 3 to 5! I don't want to go back and renumber chapters, ('cause Chapter 1 was the prologue), and '2' was 1...whatever. You get the picture. However you slice and dice, there's 23 chapters…yea…on with what you're really here for…

As you know, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. If you don't know who owns them by now, after a total of about 36 total chapters in this series…that's sad. But I'll say it anyway. Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

/Blah/ is spirit to host

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all are missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all are missing)

Alex Brisbane: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu

* * *

Chapter 14

Hermione opened her eyes, she found herself in a bedroom of a nicely-furnished home. Seto was sitting at a chair by her side, but didn't realize she was awake. He was making a trinket on an end table somersault with his wand.

"Hi," she said.

Seto let the trinket fall onto the table, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said, "what happened exactly?"

"You collapsed after you unjinxed the Portkey. We took you back to the Rebellion safe house, and you've been out since. It's got to be the middle of the night now."

"She's going to come after me," Hermione sat up against the headboard, "She needs me to be powerful again."

"How…?"

"She said she needs me to get her old body back. I don't really remember the details but she said she was going to destroy the rebellion, and you!"

"We got here two days ago, how can she have a grudge against us?"

"We have to stop her, putting us pretty much on side with this Rebellion. In order to have complete control, she has to wipe us out."

"Isn't she getting ahead of herself? She doesn't have a body."

Hermione swung her legs over the side of the bed, "I have to go. I won't put you in danger."

"Hey," Seto put a hand on her shoulder, "What are you talking about?"

"She won't rest until she finds me. With that, I can't risk her doing anything to you or the others. I can't let her find us all."

"You don't want to put _us_ in danger. We don't want _you _in danger! Where will you go? That nut probably _wants_ you out in the open. It'll be easier for her to find you. If she gets a body, it'll be even harder for us to win. It's a lose-lose situation. You're at least better off with us."

Hermione turned to look out the window. The castle was illuminated in the distance.

"We'll get through this together, or be trapped here trying," said Seto, "We'll find the way out."

* * *

Set paced back and forth in spirit form. Marik watched him move back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, from his spot on the couch.

"Will you stop that? You're making me dizzy."

"Then don't stare," said Set, "What's taking them so long? How much time does it take to look for a down plane?"

"Maybe that plane went down," said Marik, but stopped after Set's glare, "Sorry…"

* * *

Yugi sat in the same armchair, supposedly asleep. However, rest was far from Yugi's mind. He left his soul room and opened the door to Yami's side.

"Pharaoh, are you in here?" asked Yugi.

Yami Yugi appeared in the center of the area, "What's on your mind, Yugi?"

"I'm worried about us. I have that 'something bad is going to happen' feeling, and I don't like it."

"I feel it too," said Yami, "Things have been too easy. From what I could gather from your tale, someone on our side of the Rebellion found you rather quickly, and Hermione was able to escape the castle, along with the Puzzle. I would think escaping a large castle would be difficult."

"You think it was a setup?"

"I don't know, Yugi. But we should be extra careful. We don't know how trustworthy the villagers are."

"All of the other challenges didn't seem so…extreme. The witch in the desert wasn't too bad; and neither was the one with the light and darkness. Then it got harder. We had to fight Joey, find a way out of a maze, and last time…we almost got pummeled by a five-headed dragon!"

"Yes, and it seems the harder the challenge, the more real the danger. When I took a blast from the Fiendish Five, it felt much more real than when we were trying to stop Joey. We have to be _very _careful here. Maybe Hermione knows something that can help us."

"Do you think she's awake now?"

"It wouldn't hurt to find out. We need to gather as much information about Vaasth as possible if we expect to win."

Yugi left the Puzzle. Tea was asleep on the couch and Tristan, Joey, and Brisbane were in the other room upstairs. He didn't know where Darren was. _Maybe he's meeting with the spy._

/Maybe there is no spy and he really works for Vaasth/

**/Then he might have told Vaasth about us already! We have to find him!/**

Yugi went upstairs and to the door at the end of the hall. Knocking softly, he entered when there was no reply. _Maybe he is out of the house,_ he thought. He peered at some photos on a dresser top. Most of them were scenic, but one was of him and a beautiful woman with long brown curls and cold eyes.

Yugi picked up the photo and then walked over to Hermione's room. He knocked and went inside. Hermione was standing at the window, looking at the town. Seto had nodded off in the chair next to the bed.

"How are you feeling?" asked Yugi.

Hermione shrugged, "It's only a matter of time before she finds me."

"We'll be ready this time," said Yugi, "No surprises."

"What's that?" Hermione pointed to the picture.

"Have you seen this person before, perhaps in the castle?" Yugi handed her the picture.

Hermione took one look, and her eyes went wide. "That's her, that's Vaasth!"

"That's Vaasth? Why would Darren have a picture of her in his bedroom?"

"Maybe they're related," guessed Hermione.

"It doesn't make any sense! He's part of the Rebellion!"

"So he says," said Hermione, "He could be a spy for Vaasth."

"We won't know until he comes back," said Yugi, picking up the photo, "In the meantime, there's not much else we can do." He left the room.

* * *

Graydon entered the throne room. Various soldiers bearing weapons of all shapes and sizes had gathered. One of them approached Graydon.

"Sir, Lady Vaasth has ordered us – with you leading – to bring the girl back. According to a reliable source, she's in a villager's home at the end of the town."

"In the dead of night?"

"Yes. She wanted us to leave as soon as you were briefed."

"Then what are we waiting for? The sooner we leave; the sooner Lady Vaasth's power is restored."

* * *

Darren ran back to the house and slammed the door shut. "Wake up, everyone, hurry!"

"What is it?" asked Tea.

"The spy reported in. Soldiers are coming this way!"

"Soldiers?" asked Yugi, "How do you know they won't just pass through the city and move on?"

"He said they know that you're here. They're going to try and destroy you!"

"We have to hurry," said Yugi. He ran upstairs and nearly flattened Alex in the process.

"What's going on?" asked Brisbane.

"The soldiers know we're here. They're coming now. We have to fight them," said Yugi.

"Why don't we just leave?"

"Running and hiding won't get us anywhere!" said Yugi, "In order to get of here, we're going to have to fight eventually. Load your capsules. We're going to be ready for them this time!"

Yugi ran into the room Joey and Tristan were in and shook them awake. "Get up guys!"

"What's goin' on, Yug'?" asked Joey.

"Soldiers are coming. Tristan, you have to summon your capsules. Maybe give one to Joey. It's time we did something!"

"Aw right! A fight! Gimme your Shovel Crushed, Tristan."

"No way! You take Thunder Dragon."

"Keep the smaller monsters at the windows. They can attack without having to worry about being seen right away. The big monsters can hover in the sky and around the house," said Yami, taking control. "Thunder Kid, Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Kuriboh, and Happy Lover should stay in the upstairs windows. Celtic Guardian, Dark Blade, Shovel Crusher, and Dark Magician can stay on the ground outside, and Thunder Dragon, Seiryu, Pitch Dark Dragon, and Dark Witch can hit from the skies."

"What about Black Luster Soldier and Blue Eyes White Dragon?" asked Brisbane.

"Kaiba and I will probably merge with those."

"Oh."

"The soldiers are coming," called Darren from downstairs, "I see them in the distance!"

"Let's go kick some butt," said Joey, cracking his knuckles."

* * *

"There they are," said Hermione, pointing from the bedroom window. Seto looked in the indicated direction. Sure enough, soldiers with varying weapons were coming down the road. Seiryu, Pitch Dark Dragon, Thunder Dragon, Dark Witch, and Blue Eyes White Dragon were in the sky. The smaller, weaker monsters were in the downstairs window, ready to attack from inside, and the ground monsters were out in the street. It was Joey's idea to use wand magic as sniper fire from the front bedroom windows.

"How many of them are there?" asked Seto.

"It's too dark to tell. There's enough – leave it at that," said Hermione, "Do you have your wand?"

Seto nodded, "Always. Who do you think is going to hit first?"

When the first row of soldiers made it over the hill the house was on, they were able to see the monsters protecting the area. Immediately, they began engaging the monsters.

The soldiers weren't faring too well against the monsters hidden in the windows. Their attacks (led by Joey) caught most by surprise. When the soldiers looked in the direction of the source, the monsters ducked out of view. A soldier tried to sneak over to the window and find the monsters, but Thunder Dragon fried him.

"Where did these monsters come from!?" cried a soldier, "They're wiping us out!"  
"It must be from those newcomers who arrived a few days ago. Lady Vaasth keeps these types of monsters in the castle."

"We need to get into that – look out!" The soldier ducked, pulling his companion with him. A jet of red light flew past them. "Where the hell did that come from!?"

"It must have been from that witch on the roof!"

"Well, we need to get into that house and stop them from hitting us from there."

"We can't, not with those dragons…"  
"What dragons?"

"_Those_ dragons, you twit!" He pointed at the roof. Pitch Dark Dragon opened its mouth and let out a blast of dark magic. "Run!"

* * *

Yugi ran upstairs and into the far bedroom. "How's it going up here?"

"They think Dark Witch is sourcing our attacks, which is good for us, but it would be helpful if they stopped – _Stupefy!_ – moving!" Hermione sighed, "I got one, but it's hard to get a good aim without being seen."

"Well, so far, they're losing," said Yugi, "Tristan and Tea are on the side of the house, Joey's with the small monsters, Darren and Alex are out back, and I'm on my way to the dragons."

"You're going on the roof?"

"Tristan said I could ride on Thunder Dragon. If we have to dismount, Yami's going to merge with Black Luster Soldier."

Seto watched his Blue Eyes fry ten soldiers, "I think the dragons are fine by themselves. Maybe you should go out and see what's going on down there."

Yugi nodded and hurried out.

Suddenly, Seto felt a sharp pain in his side. "What the…"

"What is it?"

"I don't know…my side hurt all of a sudden. I've got a bad feeling…"

* * *

Tristan, Alex, and Tea also felt mysterious pains all of a sudden, but couldn't figure out where they were coming from.

Meanwhile, Shovel Crusher was doing a very good job at confusing and aggravating the soldiers. He would come up from his underground tunnel, plow into a few soldiers, and return below the street. Not only did he stop the soldiers from attacking the other monsters, he was able to slow them down, allowing Hermione to stun them with her wand.

"It would be a lot easier if we had a machine gun," Seto said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "We don't want to kill them!"

"From what you said Vaasth plans to do, they're going to kill _us_."

"This is a game, Seto…though it is a cruel, twisted one…no one's going to die."

"Can you be sure of that?"

Hermione didn't respond.

"These challenges seem more and more real. Getting hit by something in the first round was nothing compared to the last one. For all we know, anything that happens here is real."

Somewhere, down below, there was a loud crash.

"What was that?"

"Sounded like it came from the back of the house," said Seto, "I'll go see." He could hear banging and other strange noises somewhere else in the house. Just when he was about to turn the knob, a force on the other side threw the door open, sending him backwards to the floor. When he got up, a familiar looking sword was pointed rather close to his neck. He narrowed his eyes when he saw who held the weapon, "You!"

"We meet again," said Graydon, smiling, "Like I said to you last, I don't wish to fight you."

Seto narrowed his eyes, "Then put the sword down."

"Very well," Seto was as surprised as Hermione when the soldier put away his weapon, "I've only come for Hermione. I don't want to hurt either of you."

"You must be out of your mind if you think I'll go back with you," said Hermione angrily.

"Yes, yes, well your little charade is done. The fighting is over."

"Is it…" said Seto, "Hermione, what's going on outside?"

She peered out the window, "There's nothing...some soldiers in the street, but no fighting."

Seto found something very suspicious, "Why aren't the dragons doing anything?"

Graydon gave a sly smile, "We stopped them, with this." He held out an odd looking pot.

"It's a –"

"Dragon Capture Jar," Seto muttered. He knew if he tried to blast it with his wand, Graydon would slice his wand in two with his sword. "Hermione, destroy the jar."

Hermione barely started to raise her wand when Graydon tucked the jar away, "I wouldn't. It's impervious to magic. Lady Vaasth purposely charmed the jar herself before we left the castle. Now, I'm going to ask again. Come back to the castle."

"If you think I'm going to willingly go back there, you're crazier than I thought," Hermione said.

"If you won't come willingly, then it will be by force," said Graydon. He raised his sword and the soldiers behind him tightly gripped their weapons.

Seto backed up next to Hermione, "You know…it looks like we're gravely outnumbered."

"Yea, we don't have a chance," Hermione grinned, "Ready?"

"Absolutely," said Seto. They both raised their wands.

"STUPEFY!"

* * *

Joey groaned and opened his eyes. _Man, what happened? Oh yea. Those soldiers are what happened…_ He rubbed his head where one of the men had struck him. _Huh? Where are the dragons?_ Getting up, Joey began looking for the rest of his friends. He wandered into the kitchen. Alex was unconscious; there was a small cut on his cheek. _Wait a sec – I thought this was like some crazy Shadow Game, but he's bleedin'. Is this place _real_? _Joey continued out back. Yugi was on the ground tinkering with something.

"Yugi? What happened?"

"Everything went downhill when someone pulled a Dragon Capture Jar. Tristan and Tea are unconscious. I saw Darren with them before, but I don't know about anyone else."

"Why are you sitting on the ground?"

Yugi looked up at Joey, "They broke the Puzzle."

_Oh, man. _"Need help?"

"No. You go find the others. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yea. Someone might need help, and the Duel Armor is useless without Yami."

"If you're sure…" Joey ran off again. _What's that noise upstairs? _He cautiously walked down the hall where strange flashes of light were coming from the end room.

* * *

"You okay?" asked Darren. He, Tristan and Tea had found Yugi.

"Just putting the Puzzle back together – yet again," said Yugi. "How are you guys?"

"We're fine," said Tristan, "A little scratched up, but okay."

"I can't believe they have a Dragon Capture Jar," said Tea, "That completely gave them the winning edge."

"I can't believe I got hit over the head with a rock," Tristan muttered, "Of all the ways to go down…"

Tea rolled her eyes, "Try small boulder. Anyway, Yugi, have you seen Joey, Kaiba, or Hermione?"

"Joey was here a moment ago – yes! Finished it! – but I haven't seen the others." Yugi placed the Puzzle around his neck and let Yami take control.

"I think we should regroup with the others as soon as possible," said the pharaoh, "Sorry about the soldiers invading your house, Darren."

"No worries. I fight for the destruction of the monarchy. A little damage here and there won't hurt me."

"We saw a picture of someone that Hermione recognized as Vaasth," Yami began.

"Say no more," sighed Darren, "I know what you might be thinking. Lady Vaasth is my sister."

He ignored the looks plastered on their faces, "I'll explain everything after we find your friends. I assure you, I have only honorable intentions."

* * *

"Can you explain why we're losing this?" asked Seto.

"I don't know, but I've got an idea," Hermione waved her wand; she conjured a large flock of birds. They flew about the room. A few soldiers stopped trying to break through an invisible barrier Hermione had made and stared at the birds.

"Oppugno!"

Immediately the flock swarmed around the soldiers.

"Argh!"

"Get 'em off me!"

"Ow!"

Graydon, while trying to keep the flock off of his face, reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange looking object. He held it out in front of him. The stunner Seto sent towards him was absorbed into the strange charm. A moment later, the red beam, now three times its original size went shooting back toward Seto. It hit the magic barrier and kept on going. Seto managed to duck just in time before the jet of light hit the wall, leaving a large burn mark.

"What is that?"

"A gift from Lady Vaasth. It duplicated the magic sent into it and repels it three times as powerful. I can crush your barrier with ease, and then some, but I will offer you one last chance to come back to the castle peacefully."

"And if I don't?" Hermione asked, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

The three soldiers who were left standing after all of the stunners and the bird attacks aimed familiar silver shooters at Seto.

"I'm afraid we will have to force your hand. If you don't come with us, your friend will only suffer. These shoot different attachments than before. Being hit by an old shooter won't really hurt you at all. These are much more lethal."

Hermione glanced at Seto, unsure what to do.

Graydon seemed to know exactly what was going on in her head, "Think about it. If you come peacefully, there will be no more hurt. If you refuse, odds are one or both of you will be given unnecessary pain and you'll end up in the castle anyway. You might as well go peacefully."

_If I go quietly, Seto won't get hurt, my friends won't get hurt any more, but I'll be back in that prison for the rest of my life. If I refuse, we'll both lose, and I'll still be stuck, all alone, in that castle…for the rest of my life._

"Alright, Graydon," she said, "You win. I'll come quietly…"

"Excellent. Come over here and we'll –"

"…under one condition."

Graydon blinked, "What?"

"I'll go with you under one condition."

Graydon folded his arms, "I'm listening…"

* * *

Yugi and the others ran upstairs to find Joey standing in a doorway.

"What is it Joey?" asked Yugi.

"They're gone," said Joey, "They all just disappeared. Hermione and Kaiba and everyone else…they just vanished into thin air."

"No one just gets up and disappears, Joey," said Tristan.

"No, they vanished. Some guy held up this weird charm thing and there was a bright light and they disappeared. I'm not goin' bananas here!"

"Well, there's only one place they could have gone and we all know where," said Yugi.

Tea nodded, "The castle."

"I'm sure they're depending on us to win this challenge so we can all go home. We have to act fast before that sorceress is too powerful."

"We need to get our stolen stuff back and defeat her," said Joey, "Any ideas?"

"There's always the direct approach," said Tristan thoughtfully.

"Yea, good going, Tristan! Let's all walk through the front door and get shot!"

"Calm down, Joey!" Yugi sighed, "Darren, we need your help once more."

"Ask away," he said, "I want to help any way I can."

"We need to get information from this spy; where our missing stuff is, where our friends are, and anything else going on in the castle."

"I'll see what I can do," said Darren. He looked around the house, which looked like a bomb tore through it, "Uh, anyone want to help clean this place up?"

* * *

Tanny entered Lady Vaasth's chambers. The tiara was sitting on its cushion, and the sorceress's transparent body was on the balcony, overlooking the city.

"My Lady?"

Vaasth turned, "What is it? I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed."

"She's back, My Lady."

"Tell Shaile to prepare the transfer first thing in the morning."

"There's something else, My Lady."

"Oh?"

Tanny told her.

"Oh, excellent! This will most definitely work to my advantage!"

Lady Vaasth drifted out of her room, following Tanny down the corridor. The maid stopped at room with two guards at either side of the door. Going right through the door, she went right up to the figure unconscious on the bed. _Hmm, you are a handsome one. What kind of person are you? _

She placed a hand on his forehead, looking at all of the memories flooding forward.

_A fifth birthday party…_

_Seeing Mokuba for the first time…_

_Mother's dying wish, "Take good care of Mokuba, Seto…"…_

_Learning Father died in a car accident…_

_Living in the orphanage…_

_Another kid taking a picture of Mokuba and Seto after Mokie won his first chess game… _(aka the photo in the lockets)

_Challenging Gozaburo to a chess game, "If I win, you have to adopt me and my younger brother Mokuba!"_

_His first Duel Monster cards, kept secret from Gozaburo…_

_Private tutoring…_

_His torture when Gozaburo was livid with him…_

_Striking a deal with the Big 5…_

_Taking control of Kaiba Corp…_

_Going to public school…_

_Rising to become the Duel Monsters World Champ…_

_Losing to Yugi Muto…_

_Trying to save Mokuba from Pegasus…_

_Forcing Yugi's hand on the castle rooftop…_

_The fateful meeting with Ishizu at the museum…_

_Battle City…_

_The rematch with Yugi and the blast from the past…_

_The Dartz ordeal…_

_Somehow agreeing to take control of the Millennium Rod…_

_Meeting Set…_

_The Hogwarts letter…_

_Meeting Harry, Ron, and Hermione…_

_Hogwarts and Quidditch…_

_The back porch with Hermione at the Kaiba manor…_

_Logging onto his laptop after a nap to be whisked away to Voldemort's lair…_

_Pushing Yugi away from the Sword's magic…_

_Waking up in the hospital wing months later…_

_Saving Hermione from Malfoy…_

_Hermione and Seto's first kiss…_

_A month of detentions…_

_Encountering Malfoy for the second time…_

_Umbridge spilling information about Gozaburo…_

_Sectusempra…_

_Dumbledore's funeral…_

_Grangers' funeral…_

_Discovering the pilot was a Death Eater…_

_Entering the Pyramid…_

_Obtaining the magic sword and glove…_

_Destroying the Fiendish Five…_

Vaasth pulled away, _that was a bit more than I expected to see…but this is working perfectly! There's no way I can lose now!_

* * *

The morning sun shined right through the open French doors and onto Hermione's face. When she opened her eyes and sat up, she realized she was in the same room as before. The last thing she could remember was agreeing to come back to the castle.

_Wait a minute – I only agreed to come if Seto was here! Where is he?_

The door opened and Graydon came inside. "It is time. Come with me."

Hermione folded her arms, "What about our bargain?"

"Your friend is in the next room. One of my soldiers went against orders and shot him, thinking he was going to retaliate in some way. However his aim was off and his dart hit both of you. You were only grazed by it, but your friend is still recovering."

He saw Hermione wasn't going to budge. "You agreed to return to the castle. You know what is going to happen. I'd rather not have to drag you there."

"What about Seto?"

"What about him?"

"Will I be able to see him later or are you going to coop me up in the same room again?"

"That is up to Lady Vaasth. I doubt she'll keep you cooped up in one room. But we won't know unless we leave." He beckoned toward the door. After a moment's pause, Hermione followed.

"What exactly is going to happen to me?" she asked.

"Lady Vaasth will give you two options on how she will get her new body. One is to let her possess you –"

"Absolutely not!"

"…the other is a slow energy drain, which will also keep the two of you in separate bodies."

"None of them are very desirable."

"They're not supposed to be. If you don't want Lady Vaasth to be able to look through your memories and thoughts, I'd stick with option two."

Graydon led her down the hall and around a corner. Roan was at the end of the hall, at a large set of doors. Upon their arrival, he opened them and nodded his head toward the door.

The room was mostly empty, save for a long table in the center. A man Hermione didn't recognize was examining the objects on the table. Lady Vaasth was also there; her tiara was in the middle of the table.

Hermione noticed that Vaasth wasn't wearing her customary slinky gown and open cloak. Instead she wore a robe that seemed to shimmer, even while transparent. Another silk robe was draped over the table.

"I'm sure Graydon has informed you of your choices," said Vaasth, "I'm also guessing you're going to choose the second option."

Hermione nodded, staring at the floor.

"This is Shaile, Hermione," said Vaasth, "He will be conducting the ritual."

"Please remove your outer garment," said Shaile. He walked over with the shiny silver robe.

"What? Why?"

"It will make the transfer easier," said Shaile.

Hermione took off her jacket, revealing a black tank top. She pulled on the robe and left it unclasped. It reminded her very much of her Hogwarts robes, only this was shinier, silver, and the length ended just at her feet. Graydon took her jacket and draped it over his arm.

"The cloak must be worn by both parties for the ritual to work," said Shaile. He led Hermione to the center of the room, next to Vaasth. "For you, it acts as a collector, and for Lady Vaasth, it 

acts as a receiver. The entire process time will vary, depending on the amount of energy needed. It's gradual, so you won't feel a great loss of energy right away."

"…and how is this supposed to work?"

"The robe will activate on its own. However to start it, you must take hold of the scepter. I will do the rest." Shaile walked back over to the table, and took the tiara and scepter. He held the tiara over Vaasth's transparent head and handed the scepter to Hermione, who took it with a reluctant pause.

To Hermione's surprise, her robe changed from silver to gold. Glancing at Vaasth, she saw that the top of her head was no longer transparent. Slowly, her body became whole again. Hermione gasped, looking down at the scepter. _I just pretty much spelled doom for my friends…I can't believe I agreed to this!_

Shaile approached once more, this time holding two silver bracelets. "These will measure the amount of energy in each of you. For you, it tells of how much you have left, and for Lady Vaasth, it says how much you have gained." He fastened them around Hermione and Vaasth's wrists, "The lowest yours can go is five, and the highest yours can go is 95. The bracelets will turn gold once the transfer is complete. Only then can you remove the cloak and the bracelet."

Hermione looked at the number on hers. It changed from 92 to 90.

"Lady Vaasth, until yours reaches at least fifteen, you should rest," he said, and then turned to Hermione, "Once yours reaches anything below thirty, I wouldn't do anything strenuous."

_Not that I'm going to be doing anything important anymore anyway…_

"There's nothing else to do here," said Shaile, "You can all go about your regular business now. And remember – don't remove the cloak or bracelet."

* * *

After Vaasth took back her necklace, Graydon led Hermione back to her room. She stopped at the door next to hers. The guards weren't there.

"Weren't there two people here before?"

"Probably rotating the guard, but someone should be there. I wouldn't think much about it," said Graydon. He noticed her staring off at the door, "I suppose you can see him now," he shrugged, "I doubt he's awake though." He unlocked the door.

The dark curtains around the French doors were drawn, letting in very little of the morning light. Hermione could make out Seto's still form on the bed. She opened the curtains a bit to shed some light and gasped.

The back of his hand was completely blood-covered, also staining the bedspread around it. The left side of his head was sporting a nasty cut, and on his left sleeve part of his jacket and shirt was ripped, revealing a disgusting slash. She wasn't surprised to see his capsule belt and shooter, as well as his sword, missing.

"What happened?"

"I wasn't bluffing when I warned you about our new shooter darts. There are very lethal. They're not strong enough to kill anyone, but they pack quite a punch. Merely touching an active one for more than a few seconds can knock someone unconscious. I have no idea what this one was programmed to do, but the wounds will heal. He should be up soon. We cleaned his head and shoulder wound. I see his right hand needs some more care."

"That hand always needs care," said Hermione, "Just what is Lady Vaasth going to do with him?" She squeezed Seto's hand.

"Remember, it was _your_ idea to bring him along. Since you'll be stuck here for a while, I'm sure he'll be company for you. Lady Vaasth will probably keep a close eye on him if your friends arrive for a rescue."

"I'm just surprised you held up your end. I would have thought Seto would end up in a dungeon or something."  
"Lady Vaasth only used the dungeons for high-rank rebel prisoners. It's near impossible to escape them. Odds are if your friends are captured, they'll end up there. Your friend isn't there because of our agreement."

Hermione glanced at the bracelet. So far, it was holding at 90. "What happened to his sword, or his capsule shooter?"

"His weapons, along with yours and the other items we took when you first arrived are kept in Lady Vaasth's private keepsake room. She keeps such items as her prize possessions, separate from the treasure room."

"So where is this room?"

Graydon shook his head with a slight chuckle. He closed the curtains again and beckoned Hermione out of the room, "Ah ah ah! I can't give you that information. You can't fool me _that _easily."

He lead Hermione back to her room, "Tanny will be along soon to bring food and then to care for your friend. Lady Vaasth still doesn't trust you just yet to wander the castle, so I'll have to lock you in. I'll let you know when your friend wakes so you're not alone all the time. Perhaps I can let you see the Gardens – without an escape attempt this time."

"Why are you being so nice?" asked Hermione, taking her jacket back from Graydon, "You don't seem like the other guards at all – Roan especially."

"I may side with Lady Vaasth and give her one hundred percent loyalty, but not even you, a 'guest' in the castle, deserves to be locked up alone."

* * *

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon (all are missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all are missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all are missing)

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Alex: Pitch Dark Dragon, Dark Blade (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

Let me know what you think, and I'll see ya Friday!


	15. Chapter 15

Happy Friday everyone! Also, Happy 1-day late birthday to Harry Potter and JK Rowling! We (the super-obsessed fans) love you Jo!

For a disclaimer, see previous chapters.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

Monsters thus far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon (all are missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all are missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all are missing)

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Alex: Pitch Dark Dragon, Dark Blade (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

* * *

Chapter 15 (I can't believe I'm at 15 chapters and this capsule thing _still_ isn't done yet!!)

Seto moaned and found the strength in him to open his eyes from his bizarre dream. Apparently Hermione had consented to Vaasth's wishes and dragged him to some castle where he was shot at by a crazy soldier. However when everything was awfully dark and he noticed he was lying on a large and comfortable bed in a _very_ well-furnished room…_Damn, it wasn't a dream…_

He tried to move and get a better view of his surroundings, but he surrendered to his body's pain. _I haven't felt this lousy since…when _was_ the last time I felt this bad? It seems every bone is on fire._

Someone then pulled the curtains back, causing Seto to squint and turn away from the light. Tanny hurried over with a tray of bandages.

"Oh!" she cried, "I didn't realize you were awake! I hope I didn't blind you." She didn't wait for a response, but continued anyway, "I'm Tanny, one of the maids. I take care of the whole hallway, see." She started bandaging his arm, "Your friend was very worried about you. She was in here, oh maybe three hours ago, see."

"You're a good friend to her," she continued, "Agreeing to come with her back to this place. I can tell she doesn't like it here, but then again, who would like being cooped up here all the time?" Tanny then moved around the bed to begin wrapping his hand, "There, you're all strapped up now. I'll go and bring you something to eat."

Lady Vaasth entered the room about ten minutes later after Tanny left. Seto had dozed off, his chest slowly rising up and down.

"How the mighty have fallen," she chuckled and perched herself on the edge of the bed.

Seto opened his eyes and looked to his left.

"I've been expecting you, Seto Kaiba," she smiled, "I knew sooner or later you'd arrive at my doorstep. Though I must admit, this wasn't the outcome I was expecting."

"That's nice," Seto muttered. He tried to get himself to sit up, but lost that battle.

"Funny how a strong warrior such as yourself ends up beaten and broken in my grasp so easily. I would have expected some stronger resistance from you."

"I didn't expect to become target practice when I got here," said Seto, returning his gaze back up to the ceiling, "Come here to gloat?"

"Perhaps," Vaasth smirked, "Your weapons have been removed, and now you're nothing but a wounded boy. It seems you and your friends are fighting a losing battle, Seto. I can't be stopped, and thanks to Hermione's generous gift, I'll be strong enough to finally crush the pitiful Rebellion! You're friends will fail and will suffer from it."

"You can't defeat us," said Seto, turning to look back at her, "We're more than just a bunch of kids. We'll overcome whatever you throw at us."

"It'll be a waste of stamina. There's only one monster in existence that can defeat me, and it happens to be somewhere in the castle."

"What makes you think we won't find it?"

Vaasth gave a cold chuckle, "Even if you _did _find it, you don't have a capsule shooter at your disposal. It would be confiscated off of you within mere moments."

"In the end, you won't be able to succeed," said Seto coldly, "We'll make sure of _that_."

"Is that a threat?"

"…Possibly."

"Such strong words coming from someone who can barely get off that bed," Vaasth smirked, "Your threat doesn't scare me at all."

"I wouldn't be surprised if the others are on their way now. You can't be all that powerful now if you just got your body."

Vaasth was silent for a moment, then spoke, her voice cold, "I may not be at full strength _yet_, but I assure you, I am still quite powerful!" She fingered her staff gingerly and turned to face him, a cruel smile etched on her face, "Care for a demonstration?"

Seto eyed the staff with narrowed eyes, "I think I've been dealt enough pain for one day."

"Why Seto," Vaasth laughed wickedly, "You don't know the _meaning _of the word pain! Here, I'll show you!" Vaasth pressed the scepter against the covered wound on his left arm, a wicked smile etched on her face.

If Seto thought his current predicament was painful enough, this was ten times worse. Unbearable pain shot through him, and he was barely able to keep himself from crying out by squeezing his eyes shut. After a moment, it was over as fast as it had come. He glared back at her, clutching his arm where she had touched it, breathing heavily.

"Not even a whimper…impressive," she said softly, "I think I've done enough for now." She got up and headed to the door, "I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time at all, but don't try anything stupid if you want to stay out of the cells below." She left the room.

Seto sighed and stared back at the ceiling. _…How did she know my name?_

* * *

Hermione was leaning on the balcony, watching the birds flock around a birdbath below. She glanced at her bracelet, which was flashing a bright 83. Sighing, she turned back to the birds, which were now fighting at the birdfeeder. _Why couldn't there just be five trials?_

* * *

Joey flopped down onto the sofa. They had cleaned a good portion of the house and he was exhausted.

"Well, I suppose I owe you all an explanation," said Darren. He entered the room with some drinks, "It is true that Vaasth is my sister. We grew up in the castle, when my mother was the reigning sorceress. We were always together young, but as we got older things changed.

"She was curious about the magic within her and wanted to learn as much as possible. I drifted away from anything that had to do with it."

"Why?" asked Tristan.

"I didn't want the magic to hurt others. I feared if I was too powerful I would hurt the common people one day – I was afraid of what my sister has currently become. She never like the peaceful way Mother ruled. When she died, I let her rule. I didn't want to be in charge of the city.

"She was nothing like Mother. Our mother treated everything with peaceful intentions and never would send the soldiers into the city unless it was absolutely necessary. She didn't like the townspeople worried. Vaasth however, was very different. She brought order by fear. I opposed her often on her views, and eventually, she banished me from the castle. I stayed here in the city, as a butcher. I helped organize a rebellion to try to change her views, but so far, we haven't been able to do anything…"

"So then what happened?" asked Alex.

"One day a stranger with those capsule things you wear came into the city. He wore a pendant much like the one your friend had, and said he had to end Lady Vaasth's reign and recover the missing capsule monster stolen from him. I was able to help him so far, but we didn't know he possessed the one creature able to defeat her!"

"What was it?" Joey asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure. It was a very different capsule. I see yours are that goldenish bronzeish color. This one that he had was silver. Anyway, he made it into the castle and defeated Vaasth by trapping her in her crown, sealing off most of her power. However, the warrior himself was lost by a soldier's weapon.

"Vaasth was able to rule still by commanding her most loyal friend, Graydon. He took care of her crown and staff during this time. While she was trapped, six other strangers came through here, and they easily defeated her. I don't know what or how they did it, but they were gone as quickly as their arrival. But now that your friend is in her grasp, she can regain her body and all of her power! If we don't defeat her soon, she'll be able to crush us with ease and all will be lost."

"What can we do?" asked Yugi, "We need to defeat Vaasth and rescue our friends!"

"Not to mention our stuff," said Joey.

"The only monster known to defeat – or even trap her is in the castle. Only a select group of dragon-wielders can control it. I've heard past guards call it the Great White Dragon. She keeps this monster safe, away from view, along with other treasures."

"Can you find out anything for us?" asked Yugi.

"I'll have to see what the spy says tonight. I hate keeping you in all of the suspense, but I can't get too close to the castle or my sister will suspect."

* * *

Later, Tanny hurried into Seto's room, a roll of bandages and a tray in her arms.

"Here you are, dear," she said, "Sorry for the wait, but when Lady Vaasth needs something…" She trailed off when she realized her patient wasn't in bed. Seto was out on the balcony, leaning on the rail. "Oh! You're up and about, that's good news. How do you feel?" She began changing the now red bandages on his hand.

"Like crap."

"Yes, well, I can imagine. Those darts are so horrible," Tanny shuddered, "Well, now that you're up, I brought you something to eat. You look rather thin, I would advise eating. And don't think it's poisoned, I made it myself!"

* * *

"…he possesses the same magic she does, if not more," said Vaasth, "Can I use him to make myself stronger?"

"I don't see why not," said Shaile, "If you're talking about another energy drain, it won't go as smooth as the other one because he obviously isn't a physical match. It'll take longer and there might be painful side effects."

"Can you prepare for such a transfer?" asked Vaasth.

"I believe so, but I need to know just how powerful he is."

"I learned this by accessing his personal recollections while his defenses were down. I watched him do things that Hermione had done, but I didn't see everything. I _could_ do another mind sweep and connect you through to him."

"I'll need to see this for myself before I prepare any sort of transfer items."

"Then let's go. He can't be up and about just yet." She led Shaile down the hall and was surprised when she opened the door and her patient wasn't in bed.

"My, you've recovered quickly," she said pleasantly. Seto turned from watching the clouds move. "This is Shaile, Seto. He wants to see just how powerful you are."

Seto raised an eyebrow, "Go ask your loyal soldier. He saw firsthand."

"We don't want Graydon's memory of the event," said Shaile, "A firsthand look for ourselves would nice, if you don't mind. It would be a short trip through your mind."

"I _do _mind. You have the nerve to lock me up in here, torture me, and now ask to invade my head? You're more insane than I thought."

"This isn't an option, Seto," said Vaasth, raising her staff, "I don't want to hurt you."

"There's more to my head than sheer memories. It's not a pretty place to be."

"We'll decide that for ourselves." Vaasth raised her staff and sent a blast of white light toward Seto, who was too close to be able to slide out of the way. It slammed him against the wall.

Seto blinked, his vision going fuzzy for a moment. He then realized she immobilized him. _Two can play this_, the thought.

Shaile noticed his eyes were fixed on something. He waved his hand over Seto's eyes, and there wasn't a reaction.

"What did you do?" he asked.

Vaasth frowned, "Nothing. He must be dazed. Give me your hand." Vaasth performed the same move she did the night before. She expected to be flying through his memories, but instead found herself in a corridor with two doors. The left door was wooden, with a "S. Kaiba" nameplate near the top. The other wall was made of stone. The door on the right had a strange symbol on it.

* * *

"You can't pace there all day," said Marik, "You'll dent the floor."

Set glared, "I'm a spirit. What are you talking about? I don't like –" He stopped and frowned.

"What is it?"

"Someone's invaded Seto's mind! They're in our corridor."

Marik looked down at the Rod, "That can't be possible, no one's _that_ powerful…well, maybe Voldemort is…"

"I need to find him," said Set, "How does the Ring get around like he does?"

"I dunno. He just goes. I'm guessing you want to fly off somewhere too?"

Set nodded.

"You probably shouldn't, but if you want to…" Marik placed the Rod down. Set disappeared. Marik watched as the Rod lifted itself into the air and zoomed out of sight, breaking a window in the process.

Marik grimaced, "Ishizu won't be happy…"

* * *

"Looks like the left door is the winner," said Shaile. He turned the rather shiny handle, "He's locked us out."

"Perhaps he's in the other door," said Vaasth, "I guess his defenses are much higher than I thought." She tried the other door, but that one was stuck as well.

Meanwhile, the Rod had found the Pyramid and flew past Gozaburo on his way inside, knocking the old man in the head.

"Ow!" What the –"

The Rod continued into the map and toward the castle. It went up the side and through the open doors, sliding right into Seto's hand.

Inside the soul corridor, Shaile was not trying to open the metal door when it suddenly flew open. Set came out and looked suspiciously at the two intruders, the Rod firmly in his hand.

"Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" asked Vaasth. She could tell by the purple trenchcoat, this was not Seto Kaiba.

"I asked you that first," said Set. He raised the Rod, ready to use it if necessary, "And what are you doing in here?"

"I'm Lady Vaasth, and I'm looking for this boy's power."

"Set narrowed his eyes, "To be here, you must be up to no good. You have ten seconds to leave before I _make _you."

"You're little stick is no match for me," said Vaasth.

"My Lady, perhaps we _should_ go."

"Silence, Shaile."

"Time's up." Set raised the Rod and in a flash of golden light, both Shaile and Vaasth were pushed out. Set followed, taking control in the process.

**/What the – Set, how'd you get here?/**

/I sensed someone trespassing. You don't need another enemy vying for control over the Millennium Items. Let me handle this…/

**/I can take care of myself…/**

/She's weakened you…let me at least send her off./

**/Be my guest, if you wait too long, I'll take over and try to kill her myself./**

/…/

Set walked forward, the Rod glowing. He said threateningly, "Stay out of his mind, or I'll destroy _yours_ from the inside out."

Shaile nodded and hurried out. Vaasth slowly backed away and headed toward the door.

Outside in the hallway, she turned back to Shaile, who looked shaken, "I think that's all the proof you need."

* * *

"Lady Vaasth is allowing you to visit the gardens," said Graydon.

"Really?" Hermione was shocked that after her escape, the witch wouldn't lock her up the entire time.

"Yes, and there's a surprise waiting for you down there," he said.

"It's not Roan, is it?"

Graydon smiled, "No! I'm not telling you." He led her downstairs toward doors leading outside.

This area was much different from the area Hermione escaped through. It truly was a beautiful place. There were flower bushes of all different colors. Butterflies were swarming plants with little flowers. A stone path weaved through high bushes.

It surprised her that there were so many guards around. "Are these guards here because of me?"

"Well, not exactly," said Graydon. He led her down a path to the right. "Your surprise is just around that bend. Don't mind the guards; it was the only way to set it up. You can stay out here until Lady Vaasth has me retrieve you." He turned and headed back to the castle.

Curious, she turned the corner. A guard was standing where the path turned into a small clearing. The other side of the clearing narrowed back into a path that continued through tall bushes. The other side of the path also had a guard. There was a bench in the middle of the area, and Hermione ran up to the person pacing in front of it.

"Seto!"

He barely had time to react before she hugged him. He gasped, "Hermione - watch the arm!"

She stepped back, "Sorry. How are you feeling?"

"A little like crap, but it's not as bad as before. What are you wearing?"

Hermione looked down at her robe, "I have to wear this and this bracelet until this energy transfer is complete."

"That witch is sucking the life out of you?"

"Pretty much, but I agreed to come back, so this –"

"Enlighten me why you decided to give in?"

"Seto we were fighting a losing battle. I couldn't put the rest of us in any more trouble. I figured if I agreed to come back, the rest of us can find a way to take her out. I thought that if you were also here we could try to find where our missing stuff is."

"Instead I've been shot at, weakened to a vegetable and tortured."

"I didn't think that would have happened though – she tortured you!?"

"For about ten seconds – think up the worst pain imaginable and it was worse," he muttered, "But enough of that. What's the number on the bracelet for?"

"It says how much energy I have left. If it gets too low I won't be able to do much of anything, and once hers reaches a high enough number she won't need the drain and she'll go on a full destruction spree."

Seto frowned, "So…how do you feel at…" he looked at the number, "76?"

"Not too bad, but it could be better, I suppose." She noticed the Rod on his belt loop for the first time, "That wasn't always there, was it?"

"No, Set decided to stop by before the witch could mind probe me."

"I'm surprised she didn't take the Rod away."

"Me too, I guess Set intimidates her."

"Why'd she want to go in your mind?"

"I don't know, she had this other guy there with her…Shaile I think his name was."

"Shaile?"

"Yea."

"He performed the ritual thing that started the whole energy drain thing. Why would he be interested in you?"

"I don't know. This whole challenge is getting on my nerves. Why couldn't there be just five trials?"

* * *

"He just disappeared?" asked Ishizu.

"Yea, picked himself up and went right out the window," said Marik.

"He could be caught by anyone! He's risking capture by Voldemort and you let him leave?"

"Well, I didn't...he wanted…yea."

Ishizu sighed, "Well, there's nothing we can do now except fix the window."

Marik looked at the broken pane, where a Rod-shaped hole was cut out of the middle, "Yea…"

* * *

I can't believe this chapter is so short…but this trial is really becoming hard to do…I had no idea it would be taking this long!

I have a question for my loyal bunch of followers (that would be you guys). This is getting to be very long and very drawn out. I never imagined the capsule thing being almost as long as Tom Riddle's Item. Should I cap this story sometime after the capsule monsters thing (it won't be right after, I have a planned stopping point), or should I run the whole thing as one _huge _fanfic. If we leave it as a mega-huge fanfiction, there's going to be a lack of updates starting August 22. I leave for college that day and from then on, studies come first! If I cap it soon after Capsule Monsters, I should have it finished by then. Tell me what you think. Ice cream cake for everyone who inputs their thoughts on the matter!

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon (all are missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all are missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all are missing)

Tea: Dark Witch, Happy Lover, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Alex: Pitch Dark Dragon, Dark Blade (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for the reviews and input thus far. I'm still torn whether to keep this sequel as one or two fanfictions and I think both sides have good strong points. Voice your opinions, it's to you I write this fanfic for…

Not much else to say.

For disclaimers, see the previous chapters. I've only said it about thirteen times.

**/Blah/ **is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

Monsters so far:

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon (all missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all missing)

Alex: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

* * *

Chapter 16

Rubbing the back of his head, Gozaburo traveled through the pyramid and down the stairs toward the map. His five other companions had yet to arrive. _I said ten minutes. Where are those fools?_

In answer to his thoughts, Leichtor descended the stone steps into the room. "I thought I'd be last," he said, "Where is everyone?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," said Gozaburo irritably, "Where the hell have you been – and where are the others?"

"I was giving the Malfoy boy something to do. If all he has to do to prove himself to the Dark Lord is kill a Muggleborn, why is he so fixated on one girl?"

"He's had a school grudge against her since she beat him on the first year exams and then some. She is also close to Seto, which will work to my advantage, and she's one of Potter's best friends, which will work to the Dark Lord's benefit."

"So why do you want us to go back into that game. I thought we were finished with that place."

"The door upstairs needs two keys. We have the first, and Seto and his companions are retrieving the second. However, Brisbane sent us the signal a while ago – they should be out by now. I can't risk those brats ending up trapped there – no matter how much I loathe them. Once we get them out, we take the other key and the power beyond that door."

Johnson and Nesbitt then entered the chamber, "Sorry we're late," said Nesbitt, "Gansley was foolish enough to nearly get flattened by a trap, so we had to help him."

"Where are they then?" asked Gozaburo. The longer they waited, the greater the chance of Yugi and his friends being defeated and trapped within the game.

"Here we are," said Crump.

"Took you long enough – I said ten minutes, not a half an hour!" said Gozaburo, "Now let's go. Gansley, I can't afford to be slowed down, so you can wait out here."

The eldest member of the Big 5 muttered something to himself and slowly made his way back up the stairs.

"We should end up in the same spot as the others," said Gozaburo, "We find the others and get out of there, got it?"

* * *

I managed to configure one of the dungeon chambers to perform the new energy transfer," said Shaile, "I can send the power right into your scepter if you give it to me when we're ready to proceed. He should also have his golden staff on him somewhere so the magic within it is included in the process as well."

"Make sure he can't use it," said Vaasth, "I don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

"Agreed," said Shaile, "The only problem will be getting him all the way down there to the room."

"Where exactly is it?"

"Down in the dungeon corridor, far inside so they're away from the main cells. Odds are anyone looking for him would give up."

Vaasth smirked, "Well, I don't think getting him down there will be too hard. When can it be done?"

"Almost immediately, but I've got some bugs to work out. I should warn you, though. If you take out the maximum amount of energy possible and don't stop the procedure, he could die."

"Well, at that point, he would have outlived his usefulness anyway. Just let me know when you're ready."

"I'd like to say tonight, but I can't guarantee anything. I'll let you know."

Lady Vaasth nodded and left, heading down a hallway. She stopped at the nearest window overlooking the gardens and peered out. She could see Seto and Hermione wandering through a path, two guards following behind them. _I've gotten everything I've wanted and needed so far. Her energy, her life, and now I want yours. Protest you shall, fight if you must, but in the end, I _always _get what I want._

* * *

"Think we've been down at least half of these cobblestone paths?" asked Hermione. The sun was beginning to set and lanterns along the path began to turn on.

"Probably not," said Seto, "This place is huge…how much life have you got left?"

"66."

"You're dropping awfully fast," he said, "Feel okay?"

"Just a little tired, but it's no big deal."

"No big deal that she's sucking the life out of you? That witch is like Umbridge, who thought it was no big deal to torture students in detention."

"Speaking of…when do you think the witch is going to haul us back inside?"

"Maybe when she can't watch us from the castle, or if she thinks we're going to try and escape."

By now the sun was almost completely down and the only light was coming from the lanterns every few feet.

"I guess we're still being followed, huh?" asked Hermione.

"Yea, Dumb and Dumbest are still back there." The pathway reached a fork, "Left or right?"

"Left."

/I've got a bad feeling about this, Seto./

**/ Bad feeling about what?/**

/Something's going on inside the castle…something _bad_…/

**/Yea. A power hungry wacko is draining Hermione's life-force to make herself stronger. You didn't know that?/**

/No, no…not that. I mean something else. I can't place a finger on it, but something just isn't right./

"What did he say?" asked Hermione. She saw Seto's look and sighed, "You and I both know that the only time you space out like that is when you're talking to him."

"He says something weird is going on – other than that crazy energy drain you agreed to."

"Like what?"

"He hasn't got a clue. But he said to be careful."

The guard behind them dubbed "Dumb" paused for a moment to pull a vibrating object out of his pocket. Pushing a button on the top, he held it close to his mouth, "Yes, Milady?"

"It's time. Bring them back inside and make sure he enters his room _alone_. I don't want her to know what's going on."

"Understood, Lady Vaasth," he put his communicator away, "Come on you two. Inside." With Dumbest in the rear, he led them toward the castle.

/Now I _know_ something is amiss./

**/What now?/**

/Your room is lit. Someone's in there./

**/Could be a maid…/**

When Seto made it into his room, he was surprised to see Vaasth sitting in an armchair near the balcony doors.

"Have a nice time?" she asked, sweetly, "I'm sure you did."

"What do you want?" he narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the Millennium Rod. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dumb and Dumbest enter as well and close the door behind them.

"I'm taking you on a little fieldtrip," she said, still in the sweet voice (which Seto found quite nauseating), "A journey downstairs, if you don't mind."

Seto didn't know what she was planning, but didn't want to find out, "Can't it wait?"

"It's nothing too extravagant, but no. It can't. And refusal is not an option. I don't want to have to hurt you again – but if it comes to that, I will."

Seto held up the Millennium Rod and backed away from Dumb and Dumbest, keeping all three of them in his sight, "Bring it."

* * *

I can get you so close to the castle before you're on your own," said Darren, "I can't get too close myself without being recognized by the guards." He had brought Yugi and his friends to the main leaders of the Rebellion.

"We're grateful for all of your help so far," said Yugi, "Now we ask it once more to help rescue our friends so we can go home."

"We are eager to offer aid to anyone willing to take down Vaasth," said Mara, a leader, "We can create a diversion here in the city, and so the castle gates aren't as secure."

One of the guards outside entered the room and whispered something to Mara. "The spy is here," she said, "Let him inside."

The guard left and admitted a fairly attractive man.

"Hey! Joey cried. He recognized him right away, "You're the guy who did the kooky magic trick in Darren's house!"

"You're also the guy who led the other soldiers in the forest," Tea exclaimed, "Just whose side are you on?"

"I assure you, I may be Lady Vaasth's most trusted soldier, advisor and friend, but I have only honorable intentions."

"How do we know Lady Vaasth won't find out about you?" asked Tristan.

"I can shield my mind from her – it's something she herself taught me over the years, and now I'm able to use it against her."

"What do you know about what's going inside the castle?" asked Yugi, "Are our friends okay? What's Lady Vaasth up to?"

"For someone so small, you have big questions," said Graydon, "For the last couple of days, I've been 'watching' over Hermione, especially during the energy transfer. I'll explain…. When I brought her and her friend to the castle, Lady Vaasth initiated a procedure to regain her lost body. To do this, she would gradually drain energy from your friend until the new body can sustain on its own. Hermione would grow weaker and Vaasth would equally grow stronger. As Lady Vaasth grows stronger again through this process, her power also grows."

"What about Kaiba?" asked Joey, "He get a life of luxury or somethin'?"

"When we arrived, he was injured by a soldier's weapon. He may still be recovering, but his life isn't in danger. Neither of them to my knowledge is in a life-threatening situation."

"Can't that energy thing kill someone?"

"In the end, Hermione will need rest to rejuvenate her body again, but it can't kill her. Nothing that has happened to them is life threatening – I can assure you."

Joey frowned, "You must be all high and mighty with that Vaasth character. Why you switching sides?"

"As of the last few days I've seen Lady Vaasth change – and not for the better. I understood her want of a new body, but now she wants to keep Hermione in the castle forever. Her reasoning is preposterous and she's becoming very power hungry – even more than usual. I fear she might do something drastic if she becomes too powerful. In order to prevent that, I realize she must be stopped. She's planning a massive attack on the Rebellion and all associated to it, and I don't want the peace that's been shared between sides broken. I can get you into the castle to find your friends, but we must act quickly!"

"Doesn't Vaasth tell you when these things are going to happen?"

"I fear I've become too close with your friends. I see their position amongst the rest of us in the castle. Lady Vaasth must know this. She's been confiding in me much less than usual. I can help, but we must do something soon!"

* * *

/I told you…/

**/Now's not the time, if you haven't noticed…/**

Seto threw Dumb over his shoulder, "If you're trying to convince me to come quietly, sending your lackeys on me isn't the way to do it." He ducked to avoid a blow to his head.

"I don't need to have you come quietly," Vaasth smiled evilly from her seat, "I just need you to come with me."

"Can't be much of a fieldtrip if I'm out cold…"

"Don't worry about that, dear. It's the end destination that's important, not how you get there." She fingered her staff gingerly, grinning at him.

/Seto, let me out. I can stop these two before they make that arm of yours worse!/

**/My arm is fine./**

/Stubborn as ever. Don't try to lie, it's my body too, and I can tell you're in pain!/

Vaasth watched as the Millennium Rod activated and she noticed the difference between the two as Set came out. Waving the Rod toward Dumb, he commanded him to attack Dumbest.

"Impressive," she said, getting up, "I know you're not Seto Kaiba, so who are you?"

"…His guardian you could say…"

"I see," she smiled, "Well, then guardian, I see you're very good at turning fools against each other. I will give you the option of coming with me now…" She raised her scepter and pointed it at Set, "Or I can inflict havoc upon you."

"Over my dead body!"

**/Idiot, that's **_**my **_**body. **_**Your**_** body **_**is **_**dead!/**

"Very well then, you leave me with no choice…." Vaasth moved closer to him, "You win. I'll leave for now…I see this is a battle I simply cannot win." She walked toward the door, her guards (now free from the mind control) stumbling behind. They both had multiple bruises. She stood at the door, as her guards passed by her.

Set surrendered control of the Rod to Seto. He turned toward the door to make sure Vaasth had gone when what seemed like electricity surged through his body from the back of his neck. He gasped out in pain and was unconscious before he hit the floor.

* * *

Hermione was jolted out of her sleep when she heard a shout in the next room. _What the…_. She turned on the lamp on the bedside table and got up. She was halfway to the door when she had to stop and grab the bedpost to avoid falling over. The energy left in her was escaping rapidly. She glanced at her bracelet. Normally, the numbers would change gradually, sometimes taking a few minutes each. Now they were dropping every few seconds. _What's happening?_

* * *

"If I'm to give you my staff, what am I supposed to use say if her friends start a rescue operation?"

"Well, if you're draining Hermione of her energy and her powers…" said Shaile.

Realization hit Vaasth and she mouthed an "Oh!"

"Are you positive you want to proceed with this? He's just a kid!"

"The kid that very well just might be able to control _it_. We've come too far now to stop and after this, _no one _will be able to stop me."

"Well, we're ready when you are," he said, "He's not awake yet, if that makes a difference to you."

"I think he deserves to know just when he's going to die – so I'll wait. Just make sure I'm alerted to just when –"

A guard poked his head through the doorway, "He's coming to." Vaasth smiled and walked into the room.

"Wake up, handsome," she purred.

Seto opened his eyes blearily. He went to rub the aching spot on his neck, but found he couldn't move his arms or legs. He looked around. He was strapped at his wrists and ankles to a vertical platform. Because of his placement on the platform, he was about half a foot off the ground.

Seto glared at her, "Some field trip. Going to turn me into a vegetable too?"

"Not quite," she said, "Hermione will live through her drain. You won't."

"And how, pray tell, do you plan to keep this a secret from Hermione?"

"By using my scepter against you an hour ago, my strength and power doubled, which means hers halved in one shot. Odds are she'll be bedridden for at least a day. A few more percentages and I'll be at full strength. By the time she figures out anything, you'll be dead."

"Ever occur to you that I could be much more useful to you alive than dead?"

Vaasth stepped back and put her finger on her chin in a quizzical manner, "Oh? How so?"

"Yugi and the others are going to come for a rescue. I know their strengths, weaknesses, and tactics."

"You'd betray them to stay alive?"

"I've got a little brother depending on me to come home. I wouldn't let him down for the world."

"I won't question you on family loyalty, Seto. But I already know about your friends by accessing Hermione's memories. I know what monsters they possess and how to defeat them."

"But Hermione doesn't _know_ them like I do. She pretty much just met them. I've known them for a long time."

"I like your method of thinking, Seto, but it's a lost cause. When I drain your power, I'll be free to access that whenever I want – there'd be no need to keep you around. You would be a bigger pain in my side than you are now."

Seto raised an eyebrow, and she continued, "There's only one monster that can defeat me, and only certain dragon masters can handle it. By accessing some of your recollections the night you entered this castle, I know killing you will allow me to sleep at night. Well, I must be going. Oh – before I forget, those chains on your wrists and ankles are designed to prevent your other soulmate from taking control and causing havoc. The pain and agony ahead is _all_ yours."

She left the room, locking the door behind her.

Seto tested the strength of the chains – they didn't budge an inch. _…Gozaburo makes this lady a walk in the park._

* * *

"I can get you in tonight," said Graydon, "Hermione and Seto are in upstairs rooms overlooking the gardens. If we go through the woods and create a diversion there, we can sneak in through a staircase – oddly enough, it's the way Hermione escaped through."

The guard from outside ran in, "The old warriors are back!"

Joey looked about, "Who?"

"Well, well, well," said a cold voice, "Yugi Muto and his friends."

"Long time no see, Joseph."

"Aw man, you're here too?"

Gozaburo walked right up to Yugi, "Don't bother summoning your capsules, Muto. _This _time, we're here to help."

"What makes you think we believe you? You tried to trap us in cyberspace!"

"And you turned me into a monkey!"

"That was Noah, Taylor."

"Same thing!"

"Let's get to the point," said Gozaburo. "_We're_ here to make sure _you _get out."

"No catch?" asked Tristan, "No monkey suits anywhere?"

"Shut up, Tristan," said Tea, "How can we believe you?"

"No duel armor," said Gozaburo, "No wand, no sword. You think if we wanted to keep you here we'd come in too? We're risking our own ends to help you brats."

"He's got a point, guys," said Yugi.

"Yug! You can't mean…"

"They wouldn't come here to trap us; we could very well do that to ourselves! And we may need all the help we could get in defeating Vaasth."

"Kaiba won't be happy," Joey snickered.

"Kaiba's not here to give say," said Alex.

Gozaburo looked around the room, "Just where _is _Seto?"

"In the castle with Hermione," said Yugi, "We're going to go get them out when you arrived."

"You need your buddies to get out. We're here to get you out. Kicking that witch's butt will only be easier if we work together."

* * *

In the monster listing below, I've included the monsters of the Big 5 and Gozaburo, as a teaser sneak peak. There's no battle with those monsters written yet, so if you have a better monster idea for any of the Big 5, let me know. Gozaburo's monsters are a surprise. Let me know what you think of the story so far! I'll see you all next week!

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon (all missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all missing)

Alex: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

Gansley: Deep Sea Warrior, Water Dragon, Legendary Fisherman, Exodia's Left Arm

Crump: Nightmare Penguin, Penguin Soldier, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Exodia's Left Leg

Johnson: Judgeman, Reaper of the Cards, Hysteric Angel, Exodia's Right Arm

Nesbitt: Robotic Knight, Perfect Machine King, Exodia's Right Leg

Leichtor: Jinzo, Satellite Cannon, Injection Fairy Lily, Exodia the Forbidden One

Gozaburo: ??

Note the Dragon Capture Jar is still in effect. Please also be aware that if you give a suggestion, the Exodia pieces are crucial and cannot be swapped for something else. If you want to guess what Gozaburo's monsters are, go right ahead.


	17. Chapter 17

I'm officially in college now, so no more Friday updates. I'll try to work on my stories as much as possible, but I can't guarantee anything (maybe till December). I also just realized my poll is still on my profile. Check it out if you wish and haven't already. I'm sending my thanks out to everyone who supported me throughout writing this and _Tom Riddle's Item_. For those who remember the cheesy ending to _Tom Riddle's Item, _I did edit it last June – check it out if you want and let me know if it's better. Just thought I'd get that off my chest incase I can't update for a long, _long_ time. You guys are the best!

Not much else to say.

Oh yes, let me remind you – **this story **_**does **_**have character death. **I'm not telling who and I'm not telling when, but there will be death.

For disclaimers, see the previous chapters. I've only said it about thirteen (bazillion) times.

**/Blah/ **is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

Monsters so far…

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Seto: Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon (all missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (all missing)

Alex: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

* * *

Chapter 17

He couldn't have been in that spot for more than a half-hour, but Seto's outstretched arms felt ready to fall off. He struggled on his right side, trying to free his wrist, but the chain didn't budge.

/Save your strength!/

**/Save it for what? The more I've got, the more she's going to nab from me anyway. I'm going to find a way out of these, even if I'm shriveled to nothing./**

/You need to stay strong – an opportunity to escape may arrive unexpectedly! You'll need to be at some sort of form to break out!/

**/Stop being so optimistic. Knowing her, she probably made this whole setup escape-proof. I've been tugging these chains for a while, and they didn't even move. She's probably watching and laughing on her throne somewhere./**

/Well then, Seto, what _do _you want me to do. It's not like I can break you out!/

**/Can you appear as a spirit?/**

/I believe so…/

Seto glanced down at the Rod stuck on his belt loop. He watched it glow for a split second and then the spirit appeared in front of him.

"I guess it worked after all," he said, "I suppose you want me to get help."

"I was thinking more along the lines of you snooping around to find our capsule monsters."

"I could do that too, I suppose, and then get help."

"…Get help first."

"How exactly do you suppose I find the Pharaoh? I'm bound to the Millennium Rod, remember?"

Seto rolled his eyes, "The same way you got here, obviously."

Set frowned at his host, "I don't know if I want to leave you like this though. That woman is a piece of work…"

Seto narrowed his eyes at Set, "If you don't hit the road in the next twenty seconds I'll make sure my dying wish is to have the Rod melted for scrap."

"Now's not the time for jokes, Seto."

"Am I laughing?"

* * *

"Lady Vaasth?" cried a scout as he ran into the throne room. Vaasth was pacing back and forth, watching her bracelet as if it was going to jump up and walk away.

"Yes, what is it?"

"A scout on the outskirts of the city saw the same light flash from a few days ago!"

Vaasth frowned, "_More_ visitors? How many irritants do we need?"

"What would you like us to do, Lady Vaasth?"

"Nothing. Go back to your post." She watched him leave and headed towards the dungeons. _Perhaps he knows who these new visitors are._

* * *

"You sure this is a good idea?" Nesbitt muttered. He, Johnson, Joey and Tristan followed Graydon through the woods toward the castle.

"At least it's dark. She shouldn't know we're here," Johnson replied, "Although I wouldn't put anything past her."

"I can't see why they've got to come," Joey whispered to Tristan, "Can't they stay with their boss?"

"I hate 'em as much as you, Joey, but we _could _use their help. We really don't know what we're up against."

"I think they _want _us to gain their trust so they can try and kick our butts later!"

"We're here," said Graydon, stopping them. "Your friends are upstairs. We'll get them out, and then worry about Vaasth."

"So, Mister-I-Know-What-To-Do," said Joey, "Who're we springing first?"

"Hermione, by now, has been drained of most of her strength. I'd say getting her will be the most difficult. We could split up. Two go into one room, and then two the other. There's a greater chance of success that way."

"Uh, ok. We'll take Kaiba," said Tristan. Joey gave him a look saying 'what, are you nuts?' "He'd probably die of shock if he saw the Big 5," he whispered.

"Good point."

Graydon led them up through a back staircase and around a corner. "If we're caught – you'll go under the impression that I caught you entering the castle, and then I'll spring you from a dungeon if necessary. Whatever you do, _you cannot blow my cover!_ Understand?"

"Of course," said Nesbitt.

Graydon cautiously peered around a corner. "Odd – the guards are gone. Usually there's someone at each doorway."

"Makes it better for us if there are less people around," said Tristan.

Graydon reached Seto's room first. Pulling a set of keys from his pocket, he opened the door.

"You sure this is the right room?" asked Joey, "Looks empty to me!"

"He might be with Hermione," said Graydon, "Otherwise, I can't imagine where he is!"

"Maybe he escaped."

"Perhaps, but I don't think he's in well enough shape to make a break for it."

"I thought you said they were okay."

"Seto Kaiba has an arm injury. When he arrived at the castle, he was hit by a new dart."

"What new dart? I thought you all used those silver circles that just stick to people!"

"They do, but these are different," Graydon pulled one out, "The points here along the edge latch on to whatever it hits. In this case, they hit him with such force and speed it cut into his arm."

"…that's got to hurt."

Graydon led them out and toward the other room, "She _should_ be in here."

"Should? You mean she might not be?"

Graydon entered the next room. "There she is," he said. Closing the door behind him, he followed the others over to the bed.

"What's with the funny coat?"

"It's a channel for the transfer," said Graydon. He flicked on a light. Hermione appeared to be asleep on the bed. "It seems the transfer is nearly complete," he said, "The bracelet is beginning to change from silver to gold."

"What happens when it's completely gold?" asked Nesbitt.

"Lady Vaasth will be at full power."

"So is a fifteen bad?" Joey asked, looking at the flashing number.

"It could be. It'll be hard to get her out of the castle asleep, let's try and wake her."

* * *

Lady Vaasth, with Roan close behind, entered the dungeon chamber. "Oh goody! You're awake and alert;" she said cheerfully, "Things should go much smoother now."

Seto raised an eyebrow.

"I have some questions for you, Seto. Simple little questions. You see, another set of newcomers has arrived and are probably in the city now."

"So?" Seto couldn't see where she was going with this. He didn't know anything about more people arriving until now.

"Did you send for assistance in some way?"

"No."

"Are you certain?"

"If I did, do you honestly think I would tell you?"

"No, but I have methods of…where's the golden rod?" _I need that rod! It's the whole point of the power drain!_

"Maybe you should go find it."

"You can just tell me where it is."

"What makes you think I know where it is?" _Because I don't…_

"You're a terrible liar, Seto. Liars are punished." Vaasth stepped closer and started unraveling the bandage on his left arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting answers. Roan, if you please…" Vaasth stepped back, throwing the wrappings on the floor. Seto watched Roan as he loaded a silver dart into his weapon.

"Going to shoot me? Knocking me unconscious again won't help the situation."

"This one won't knock you unconscious, Seto. On the contrary, I designed it myself."

_Now, I know that can't be good. _

Roan aimed and fired. The dart's pointy edges shot out and clamped onto Seto's arm. Despite the immediate pain of the initial attack, nothing else happened. Seto glanced at his arm. The dart had stuck itself directly on the old cut, creating a fresh new wound and opening up the old one.

"The point of that was…?" He turned to look angrily at Vaasth, trying to wipe the pained look from his face.

"If you don't assist me," she began, holding up a small device, "that device stuck to your arm will remotely fire. Adding that to your injury, it'll be quite a painful experience. Unlike the others, that one will _not_ run out, and I can activate it at any time for as long as I please. The pain will be more intense each time. Now, let's try this again. Where is the rod?"

Seto narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing.

"Very well then." Vaasth clicked her device.

Seto felt what seemed like electricity surge up his arm and to the rest of his body. He closed his eyes, and clenched his fists, trying not to cry out. When the surge suddenly stopped, he reopened his eyes, breathing heavily.

"Again?" she asked. Vaasth gave him a cruel, twisted smile, "Let's try something else. Where are your friends?"

"Even if I knew, you'd be the last person I'd tell."

Vaasth held up her small remote, "Reconsider?"

"I'm not going to crack."

Vaasth gave him an even bigger twisted smile, "Oh, but you will. When the pain becomes too much to bear, you'll do anything to make it stop. Even betray those closest to you. It would make things _so _much easier if you cooperated now to save yourself from unnecessary pain. So please, where are that rod and your friends?"

Seto narrowed his eyes even more, "You'd have better luck asking a rock."

* * *

"How did you ever find us?" asked Yugi, "How did you even know we were here?"

"That doesn't concern you," said Gozaburo, "What does matter is for that group to come back with your friends."

"I would have thought you would want us stuck here, after what happened in the virtual world," said Tea.

"Just _how_ did you escape anyway? I thought Noa trapped you in there," said Yugi.

"It's a story that I know Seto's going to demand, so I'll wait to answer that," said Gozaburo.

A man came running into the room, "Soldiers! Soldiers are heading toward the city!"

"Soldiers?" asked a Rebellion leader, "Lady Vaasth must be ready to fight again! We're doomed!"

"As long as we're here, there's no way Vaasth will succeed!" said Yugi, "We're going to defeat her!" _Somehow…_

* * *

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!"

"Shut up, Joey," Hermione rubbed her eyes, "Did you get rid of _her_ yet?"

"Eh…no. Not yet."

"How are you feeling?" asked Graydon.

"Terrible."

"Well, we're gonna bust you outta here!" said Joey.

"So, I take it you don't work for Vaasth anymore, huh?"

Graydon shook his head, "I'm spying for the Rebellion now. If you want to get your bearings for another moment, I'll go and get your missing items." He left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Do you know where Kaiba is?" asked Tristan, "We haven't found him."

"He's not next door?" asked Hermione, "That's his room."

"He wasn't in there," said Nesbitt. Hermione turned to look at him.

"…Not to be mean or anything, but who are you?"

Joey beat Nesbitt to answer, "These two losers are jerks and you shouldn't trust 'em! They tried to trap us in a virtual world thing and use our bodies to escape."

"Pipe down, Joseph, the question wasn't directed to you."

"Shut up, Johnson!"

Tristan watched Johnson and Joey bicker and sighed, "Okay. The guy in the glasses is Johnson. The other guy is Nesbitt. They're both ex-employees of Kaiba Corp, and until recently, supposedly trapped in a virtual world. All you really need to know is that they're really, _really_, bad."

"Then why are you with them?"

"Because they for some unknown reason came through the game to get us out and we could use all the help we could get."

"Is there more of you?"

"Gansley is waiting in the Pyramid for us. Crump, Leichtor and Mr. Kaiba are back at the Rebellion Headquarters," said Johnson.

"'Mr. Kaiba' as in Mokuba Kaiba?"

"As in Gozaburo Kaiba," said Nesbitt.

"Then you're all Death Eaters, aren't you?"

"We work for Mr. Kaiba – who, yes is a Death Eater," said Nesbitt, "But we don't have any special magic powers. Only Mr. Kaiba does. And we came on our own risk to allow you to escape. We're not going to hurt you."

Graydon returned with a bag slung over his shoulder, "Thankfully there were little guards around," he said, "I've got three belts, and two shooters, and a sword as well as a glove. I don't remember who gets what, but you can sort through it later. In the mean time, we should leave immediately."

"What about Kaiba?" asked Tristan, "We can't just leave him behind."

"Sure we can," Joey muttered. Hermione smacked his head with a capsule shooter, "Ow!"

"Let's try to get one of you out. We can always return," said Graydon. He held out an old shoe. "Everyone needs to grab hold. It's like a transporter. In moments we'll be back with the others."

Hermione threw off the cloak and bracelet and put her own jacket on. "Let's go. I'm tired of this place."

* * *

"You're back!"

"We were worried you'd get caught," said Yugi, "We're glad you came back all together."

"We also got our stuff back! Hello Flame Swordsman!"

"This capsule belt's empty," said Hermione, "Where are the monsters?"

"Dragon Capture Jar," said Graydon, "Lady Vaasth has the jar, and it can be broken by anything _but_ magic. In order to get to the Jar, you would need to be pretty close to Lady Vaasth."

"That could be a problem," said Yugi, "What happened to Kaiba?"

"He's somewhere else in the castle - we'll have to locate him once we get there," said Nesbitt.

"Now that we're all together, we should attack the castle," said Gozaburo, "Before that witch gets too strong."

"We're ready to strike. We've assembled volunteers who will create a diversion from the front, allowing you to sneak in from the back;" said a leader, "Is that alright for you?"

"Seems okay to me," said Yugi, "As long as we don't give away our position."

They moved through the woods, following Graydon back to the castle. Before they hit a clearing, they could hear shouting in the distance.

"Looks like the Rebellion is doing their –OWCH!" Gozaburo rubbed the back of his head as something bounced off and landed at Yugi's feet.

"What the – it's the Millennium Rod!"

"When did the Rod get here? I didn't think Kaiba had it with him."

Yugi picked up the Rod and felt a strange feeling in his mind, as if another door was appearing in his soul corridor.

"That must be Set's door," said Yami, as Yugi appeared in the hallway. After a few bangs on the other side of the third door, it flew open and the priest toppled out.

"When did you get here, Set?" asked Yami.

"A while ago I suppose. I met up with Seto in the castle. At the time, Vaasth was trying to access through his mind. I was able to prevent her from doing it, but later on she must have found out about the Rod's power. I think she wants to drain it of its power – and Seto of his."

"Where is Kaiba exactly?"

"That Vaasth character has him somewhere below the castle – we need to help him immediately!"

"I thought she needed you to do anything," said Yugi.

"She might – but she _did_ promise him he wouldn't live through it!"

Yugi came out of his soul corridor and jumped back from Joey's hand waving in front of his face.

"You were spacing out, pal," he said, lowering his hand, "Everything okay?"

"No," said Yugi, "We need to get to some room below the castle. According to Set, that's where Kaiba is and he needs us!"

"The only rooms below the castle are the dungeons," said Graydon, "if he's down there for some sort of 'operation' it will be too risky to try and get you all down there. We will have to split up. I can get some people down into the basement, and the others can try and find the Dragon Capture Jar – or draw the soldiers away from the path.

/I have an idea, Yugi!/ Set said through a foggy link.

**/What is it?/**

Yami listened through the link, /You can't be serious!/

/I have to! I didn't want to leave him alone - who knows what could have happened already?/

**/There's got to be another way. I won't let you put yourself in that position! Set, you can make matters worse!/**

/Look, Yugi/ said Yami, /While you bicker, Kaiba is fighting for his life! Let him do it./

* * *

"Those fools think they can actually win," said Vaasth, "They're battle is pointless. The only thing they're doing is quickening their defeat."

"My Lady," said a guard, "One of the spotters saw a group of people enter the south side of the castle – one of them was Graydon!"

Vaasth fingered her staff gingerly, "Oh? This is certainly a surprise twist. Let them come right in."

"Is that wise, My Lady?"

"It doesn't matter now. I have the ultimate weapon and if they knew what it was, it'd be foolish to attack. Now, go to your post and carry out your assignments. Should there be an update on the new nuisances, inform me at once."

"Yes, My Lady."

Vaasth crossed the room and picked up a communication device from a pedestal. Pressing part of the top, she brought it close to her and spoke into it. "Is everything set up?"

"Yes, Lady Vaasth," said the person on the other end.

"Excellent." Vaasth closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled. _Everything is going according to plan. But first…_

* * *

_Vaasth makes Gozaburo seem like a loving father,_ Seto thought to himself. He heard the lock in the door click and watched Vaasth walk up to him.

"Good evening, Seto. How _is_ that arm of yours?" She went over and began examining it, "My, my. Looks like you could do with a doctor's visit."

Seto glanced at his arm. The stupid little device was still clamped on his old wound. Blood had leaked through the clamped 'teeth' and stained the torn edges of his shirt and jacket. In all, Seto figured if the chain wasn't there holding his wrist up, his arm probably would have fallen off. Meanwhile, his right hand had stained the current bandages red. _Umbridge is so dead..._

"What do you really want?"

"I thought, since you're completely cut off from the outside world, I should tell you that your friends are coming for a rescue attempt. I admire their courage and determination, but they soon will join you in the world after death."

"I don't die easily."

"If you tell me where your rod is, you may not have to die at all!"

"Not that you'd really keep up your end on that."

"You're treading in dangerous waters, Seto – I don't want to have to inflict _more _pain upon you."

"Stop pretending to be sympathetic. If you felt any remorse in the first place, I wouldn't still be stuck on here."

"My patience is growing quite thin, Seto."

"It must be thinner than a snowflake now, because you said those same words two and a half hours ago."

"What did you do with the rod, Seto?"

"It's right behind you."

"Don't play games with me."

"Who's playing?"

"Of course that rod isn't right – ouch!" The Rod zoomed through the air (of course whacking Vaasth in the back of the head in the process) and sailed smoothly into Seto's right hand.

/Are you alright?/

**/…Just peachy.../**

/…what the -! What happened to you!?/

**/Three guesses./**

/I shouldn't have left – let me try to take control!/

Seto was too sore and too tired to argue.

Vaasth stared at the Rod in his hand. _I don't what that thing is capable of, but I _do _know it has to be in his hand for it to work the best. While he speaks with his other self, I'll go and prepare to meet the friends._

"I can't get out of my room!" Set exclaimed, "There's some sort of magical barrier preventing me from taking control!"

Seto sighed from in the hallway. He was holding his left upper arm so tightly his knuckles were turning white. "She said it was impossible to get out."

"Nothing's impossible, Seto. _Nothing_. Now, try pulling the door open from out there."

"…I can't."

"Try harder!"

"_You try opening this door with one arm out of commission_!"

"…AHAA!!" Set managed somehow to open the door enough to squeeze through. "Let me try taking control now," he said. Seto nodded and left his soul corridor. While outside, he saw the Millennium Rod begin to glow. He felt his himself turn to enter his soul room when what felt like electricity surged from his right wrist's chain straight into his arm. The last thing he remembered was feeling terrible pain and everything went black.

* * *

Yugi led the pack down a hallway when it split in two directions. He took a second to look down each way, then ran down the rightward hall.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Tea, "It could be a trap!"

"No, I can practically sense where Vaasth is – she has to be this way!" He ran up to a pair of double doors, "This must be it!" When the gang finally caught up, Yami took control as he pushed the doors open.

Vaasth was sitting on her throne, stroking her staff when she watched them come inside.

"Ahh, so these are the valiant warriors here to save the day. Welcome to my castle! I see some old pests have decided to pay me a second visit."

"Where's Kaiba?" said Yami.

"Oh, right to the point, are we? Don't worry. Your friend is alive – for how much longer is up to you, though. I know you've been dealing with the Rebellion – of course, after what I've done to supposedly upset you, you had every right! However, should you join me now, I will spare his life."

"But this is all some sort of game, isn't it? No one can really die here!" said Alex.

"That is where you're wrong. This place is as real as the land you came from. When someone is hurt, they feel it. Observe," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a wand.

"That's mine!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, and thanks to your generous drain, I possess the same powers you do!" She quickly aimed the wand at a mirror on the opposite wall, "Reducto!"

Joey watched the glass shatter, "She wasn't kidding!"

Vaasth put the wand away, "Will you join me, or no?"

Yami frowned, "Not unless we see Kaiba first."

Vaasth sighed, "If you wish." She opened up a cabinet to pull a remote-like object out and Tristan saw the Dragon Capture Jar in the back. Aiming her remote at a vacant part of the wall, a screen appeared, showing Seto.

His head hung limply against his chest. The image was shot from the right side, so his injuries weren't visible to the group.

"Well?"

Yami didn't look very convinced, "I want to see him in person."

Vaasth frowned, "You're quite demanding, you know."

"I'm just making sure the point of our bargain isn't hurt," said Yami. They headed down a set of narrow stone steps that led under the castle. The corridor at the bottom was barely lit

Vaasth stopped before a door, "He's in there. When you're ready to try and destroy me, I'll be on my throne." With that, she turned and headed back up the stairs.

Yami turned the knob and slowly opened the door. The first thing he suspected was a trap of some sort, but there was no guard or extra someone in the room.

"Kaiba!"

Tea and Yami hurried over.

"He looks terrible," Tea exclaimed, "See, he's hurt!"

Yami bent over and picked up the Rod from the floor. "I have a feeling this is a trap," he said.

"Worry about that in a minute, Yug'," said Joey, his voice dripping with concern. He could tell Kaiba was slightly changing in his old ways toward him and he still didn't like the guy. But he would never want Kaiba to be severely injured. They all had to work together to get out. "Is he alive here? Hey, Kaiba! Rise and shine!" He tried to get a hold of his right wrist to feel for a pulse when his hand brushed against the chain.

Joey quickly backed away, rubbing the back of his hand, "That thing shocked me!"

"What's this here?" Alex reached out to grab the clamp when Vaasth's voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

A screen on the far wall turned on, showing Vaasth on her throne.

"Do what?"

"Your friend almost touched my little toy. You're lucky I decided to warn him at all!"

"What does it do?" Tea asked, but she _really _didn't want to find out.

"It's most similar to those little shooters my soldiers carry around. The difference is _that one _I made myself. It latches on _quite well_ to the target. As you can see, the claws have dug into some old wounds. I control when it goes off – and it intensifies each time. Now, if you think about it, he's been wearing it for quite some time now, and I've had _lots_ of fun with it, so you're free to make your own conclusions as to how strong it is right now."

"He _is _alive, isn't he?" asked Gozaburo.

"Oh yes! Break him out if you wish, but beware the cost!" With that, she turned the screen off.

"Ok, let's break this thing!" Joey said.

"Wait Joey! Remember the riddle?"

"What riddle? ... Oh yea, we have to kick some lady's butt, right?"

Tea sighed, "Yes, but no. We have to recover what we lost –"

"Our stuff. We already did that."

"Not everything – our wands are still missing!"

"Well, besides that then…."

"There's a cost to victory, Joey! Don't blow it!"

"Oh…right. I suppose you just want to wait for him to wake up and give us all the answers, huh?"

Seto stirred and his eyes finally opened. He first expected Set to be hovering in front of him worried. He also expected Vaasth to be there, ready to stick another instrument on him and gloat. He half-expected the others to find him. He _didn't_ expect Gozaburo to be one of them.

"Here goes nothin'" said Joey. He swung a metal shard at the chain holding his right wrist. When it made contact with the shackle, Seto gasped out loudly as the shock coursed through his body. Joey backed away, horrified.

"Oops."

"Good going, Joseph."

"Like you could do better, Johnson!"

"Stop it, Joey," said Yami, "Kaiba, are you alright?"

"…Does it _look_ like I'm alright, Yugi?" Seto managed to gasp out. He glared at Joey, who instantly, upon the look on the CEO's face, stepped behind Tristan.

"How do we bust you outta here, man?" asked Tristan.

"You have to use the key."

"And who has the key?" asked Tea.

"Who do you think?"

"Look, there has to be a way to end this already," said Joey, "I'm ready to get outta here!"

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Tea.

"Finding the key that gets me out of here is a good start. While you're gone, you can look for the room with a capsule in it. She keeps it locked up somewhere – it's the monster that can defeat her. While you're at _that_, perhaps it wouldn't be much trouble to get rid of her."

"Well, let's get going then!"

With Joey in the lead, they treaded back up the stairs and nearly plowed into Vaasth, who was standing at the top of the hallway.

"Since there is _no_ prospect of you winning whatsoever, I'm going to give you a fighting chance – you have thirty minutes to search any part of the castle for the Great White Dragon capsule. There will be no resistance by any of the castle staff and guards. If you find it – and _bring_ it to the throne room in the allotted time, I shall spare his life."

"What if we fail?" asked Nesbitt.

"Your friend is already doomed – I'm just giving you _one_ chance to save him. Time's flying so get going."

Vaasth watched them hurry past her. _They'll never find it._

* * *

"We don't even know what this thing looks like!" exclaimed Tristan, "How do we even know we've got the right one?"

"Well, if this monster is as powerful as they say, she might put it in a special place," said Nesbitt, "But I would think she would keep all of her monsters together."

"Look – there's Graydon!" Tea pointed up the hallway. Giving his shorter legs, Yami surprisingly reached him first.

"Where does Vaasth keep her spare capsules?"

"She has a room full of them upstairs. I'll show you." He led them up and around the castle, stopping at a set of glass double-doors. "I believe what you're looking for is in there somewhere. I've never seen the Great White Dragon capsule to know what it looks like. You're on your own now." He unlocked the doors and walked off down the hall.

"We've only got twenty-five minutes so let's go!"

"Don't tell me we've got to summon _all_ of these to figure out which one is the one?" Joey moaned, "There's got to be about a hundred in here!"

"They all look the same, so quit whining and start summoning," snapped Gozaburo.

While Gozaburo's back was turned, Joey sent him a rude hand gesture, and then picked up the nearest capsule. "I summon…whatever you are!"

"Real dramatic Joey."

"Shut up, Tristan."

...

"We've gone through almost all of these already," said Alex after about twenty minutes, "And we still haven't found it. Not even a single _dragon_!"

Yami jumped up and ran to the door, "That's it! Of course! Come on, there's no time to waste!"

"Where is he going?"

"Slow down, Yug'!"

**/Did you figure it out, Yami?/**

/Yes! Wasn't it strange how out of all of those monsters, there wasn't a single dragon?/

**/Other than the one we were looking for? Yea, but maybe she doesn't collect them./**

/Or _maybe _all of the dragons are someplace else!/

**/Oh!!/**

Yami led them back down and around, throwing the doors to the throne open. Vaasth was standing in front of the screen showing the dungeon room. She turned when she heard footsteps.

"You're back. Did you find it?"

"No," said Yami, "That's because you had it the entire time."

"WHAT!?" Joey and Tristan yelled.

"What ever do you mean?" Vaasth blinked.

"It took a while, but we noticed there were no dragons in the room with the other capsules. Our dragons were still missing. The Great White Dragon is in the Dragon Capture Jar!"

Vaasth smirked for a moment, and then her expression changed, "Very clever. You may have won _that_, but I'm afraid it's too late."

"What!?"

Vaasth put on a sympathetic look, "I'm afraid Seto Kaiba has passed on."

* * *

Monsters

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all but Flame Swordsman missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (Harpie's Pet Dragon missing)

Alex: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

Yes, I killed a character. My _favorite_ character...Won't be the last one either…

The next chapter is already underway, so as long as homework doesn't bog me down _too_ much, there should be another update in the next couple of weeks.


	18. Chapter 18

Wow. It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, here I am, I'm back. It took me at least ten tries to come up with this, and it could probably still be better. If you think it sucks, feel free to tell me – but be nice about it…I've got feelings too.

I am in college now, so don't expect new stuff on a regular basis.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

/Blah/ is spirit to host

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, Seto would have defeated Yugi at some point (and then lost to him, but at least he beat him at some time!), Tristan would have more of a purpose, and…other stuff would have happened…

If I owned Harry Potter…_**some**_ of the people in Deathly Hallows who died wouldn't have. Harry and Ginny would have not named their child Albus Severus, and…yea…you get the point. JK Rowling's got Harry Potter and Kazuki Takahashi's got Yu-Gi-Oh.

Monsters:

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon (all but Flame Swordsman missing)

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher (Thunder Dragon missing)

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu (Seiryu missing)

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon (Harpie's Pet Dragon missing)

Alex: Dark Blade, Pitch Dark Dragon (Pitch Dark Dragon missing)

* * *

"He died shortly after you left him," said Vaasth, "Apparently he couldn't take the pain any longer."

It was silent enough to hear a pin drop a mile away. _There's no way,_ Tristan thought, _no way he's gone. I mean, he's Seto Kaiba. He can handle corporate anything, and a gazillion family issues all at once. He can't be…_

Gozaburo didn't seem convinced, "Are you sure?"

"One of the guards confirmed it to me. He stopped breathing about ten minutes ago."

"No," Hermione moaned, and she dropped to her knees, tears down her cheeks, "This is all my fault!"

"Yes, dear," Vaasth smirked, "If you didn't escape from the castle in the first place, Seto Kaiba would still be here."

_I can't believe she killed him! I needed him later on. This witch will definitely wish she never met me after tonight. _"With or without him, we'll still kick your sorry behind!" said Gozaburo.

"Yes," Vaasth mused, "I'm sure you'll try. As a matter of fact, go on! Avenge the death of your friend! Retaliate against me and you all will end up like him!"

Hermione glared up at Vaasth, and then noticed the familiar stick poking out of her pocket. Slowly, Hermione got up and walked over to Vaasth, trying to curb the tears forming in her eyes, "Can I have his wand?"

Vaasth raised an eyebrow since she wasn't expecting that sort of request. "What - why?"

"A wand works best with only its owner, but since he's dead, is it alright if I give it back to him – and say goodbye?"

Vaasth blinked. _She can't use his wand…and I've got hers. He's already dead and she'll be gone for a while…_ "I…I suppose so." Handing it out to the grieving girl, she watched Hermione scurry out of the room and turned back to the confused group, "As for the rest of you," Vaasth smirked and waved her staff. A clear capsule shooter appeared on her arm, "A fight to the death then?"

"You're just letting her leave like that?" Gozaburo raised an eyebrow.

"Anything she tries to do will fail. The dead cannot come back. She's just going to break her heart even more, which will lessen her as a threat. Now, where was I?" She loaded some clear capsules into her shooter and summoned Dark Necrofear, Dark Ruler Ha Des, and Vampire Lady.

"I summon my Dark Magician, and my Black Luster Soldier!" declared Yami, and then he merged with his soldier.

"Flame Swordsman!"

"Shovel Crusher, and Thunder Kid!"

"Dark Witch!"

"Dark Blade!"

Joey looked over at the Big 5, who had yet to do anything, "What about you losers?"

Crump summoned Mobius the Frost Monarch; Johnson brought Judgeman, Nesbitt had Perfect Machine King, and Leichtor brought out Jinzo.

"What about you?" Tristan asked, "You're not going to summon anything?"

Gozaburo shook his head, "No, as a matter of fact I'm going to have a very one sided conversation with my stepson."

Vaasth shrugged, "Go ahead, for the less of you to get in my way the better!" She watched him leave and then turned back to the others, "So…who wants to make the first move?"

"I will!" cried Joey, "Flame Swordsman, attack!"

Vaasth smiled.

Suddenly, the Dragon Capture Jar began to glow, and Baby Dragon appeared in Flame Swordsman's path, taking the blow. Joey groaned, clutching his aching arm, "Ow! That's not fair!"

"Oh and why not? You all combined have more monster power than I, so I find it a payoff to be able to use these creatures. You're being sour because there are two dragons in there that are stronger that whatever you can throw at me!"

"WHAT?!"

"She's right," said Yami, "Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Great White Dragon are still in the Jar. She can redirect our attacks with ease!"

"There must be a way to destroy that jar!"

Vaasth clapped her hands together, "Oh, don't fret! There _is_ a way to do it. However you can't do it with magic, or monsters."

"So we've got to pull out a gun and shoot the damn thing? Great…"

* * *

Seto's tortured body was still hanging in the same spot when she entered the room. Hermione put her fingers to Seto's neck for a pulse, teary-eyed. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, "This _is _all my fault."

She looked down at the wand in her hands. "You saved my life. If only there was a way to save yours."

Hermione's eyes traveled around the room, trying to find something useful. The large device controlling the shocks on the chains caught her eye, as well as a spare energy bracelet. She gasped, _maybe there _is _a way! _Racing out of the room, she passed Gozaburo on the stairs.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To get something – don't allow Vaasth to look in the room when I get back – destroy that screen or something!" She bolted out of sight.

* * *

A short while later…

"That is _definitely_ not good!" Joey cried. Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragon was staring down at him.

"Give up yet?" asked Vaasth, "Your monsters are weak in comparison to mine. If you give up now and accept defeat, I may just let you live."

"I bet you said that to Kaiba too, and you still killed him!"

"Only he can attest to that accusation, and he's dead!"

"Yea, 'cuz you did it!" said Joey.

"That doesn't matter," said Vaasth smugly, "Without your dragons, you can't possibly win."

"We'll find a way to defeat you," said Yami.

"The only way to do that is to use the Great White Dragon – and while it's in the Jar, that creature is under my control."

"As long as the Jar is in play – wait a minute!" Leichtor cried, "Jinzo destroys all traps!"

Vaasth's grin widened, "Normally, but I'm protecting the Jar with my own magic. You need to destroy the Dragon Capture Jar with an _ordinary _weapon."

"Weapon, eh?" Tristan said, "Where's Kaiba's sword? That's ordinary, right?"

"Hermione has it, and it's a magic sword, remember?" said Tea.

Vaasth curled her lips into a cruel smile, "Did I mention that only one individual can completely control the White Dragon?"

"Eh…is it you?"

"No, it's not me – this person is no longer here. He left some time ago."

"Man, nothing's working our way tonight!"

(A short while later…)

Vaasth raised her staff, and out of the floor came bodies. Their eyes were blank and their skin ghost-white. "Why should I fight you when the lifeless shells of all I've destroyed can do it instead?!"

Yami raised his sword (from merging with Black Luster Soldier) as the zombies swarmed around them.

**/Pharaoh! I think we may be alright after all!/**

/What do you mean Yugi?/

**/I may be wrong, but doesn't someone seem to be **_**missing **_**from the herd?/**

/You're right! He _should_ be here!/

While they fought the undead monsters, Vaasth started picking off the weaker monsters with her own arsenal.

"Celtic Guardian! No!!"

Blue Eyes Baby Dragon pounced on Joey, "Yeowch! Man, even when he's not here, Kaiba's monsters are kicking my butt!"

Gozaburo walked back in and stopped when he saw the group of undead. "Well, something certainly has happened since I left," he said, pulling out his wand, "Leaving me out of all the fun?"

"I thought you weren't gonna use that!" exclaimed Joey.

"I'm not using on you, so be grateful, Wheeler!" Gozaburo started destroying the zombies one by one, but more kept on arriving.

Hermione then came back in, and ran over to help Tristan. He noticed something strange, "Hey," he said, kicking a zombie away from her, "Didn't you take that shiny bracelet thing off earlier?"

She glanced down at the now _silver_ cuff, "Oh, yes, but I put it back on."

"Why would you do that?"

"Spur of the moment," she said, commanding her Harpie to attack.

Vaasth pulled out Hermione's wand and aimed it at Tea, "Say goodbye to one of your friends, warrior!"

Yami gasped, "Tea! No!"

There was no place for Tea to move. The zombies had completely surrounded her.

"Accio wand!" shouted Gozaburo. Once he caught it, he tossed it over to Hermione.

Losing the wand didn't seem to faze Vaasth too much. Using Dark Necrofear, she just missed trying to destroy Dark Witch.

Vaasth grinned and aimed her staff at Tristan when a sword whizzed past her and embedded itself in the Dragon Capture Jar.

"What the – "

She turned towards where the sword came from and nearly died of shock right there.

Seto Kaiba was leaning on the wall in the doorway to the throne, breathing heavily, but _alive._

She was too shocked to say or do anything. The battle had seemed to be on pause. Everyone was staring at the side door.

"Kaiba?" Tea's eyes were wide, "How did you…"

Seto glared at Vaasth, her dart, now bloodstained, in his hand. "This is yours," he said, flinging it at her. She dodged, but the dart itself also landed on the end of the sword. The impact caused the sword to embed itself deeper into the jar. The crack from the impact point grew, and finally, the jar shattered, allowing the captured monsters to fly to their respective owners. However, one capsule stayed behind, hovering over Vaasth.

She loaded it into her capsule shooter, grinning, "Thank you, Seto! By destroying the Dragon Capture Jar, you've allowed me to summon the Great White Dragon!"

The dragon's first beat of the wings was so strong the zombies were instantly destroyed – and this time they didn't return.

Tristan gulped as he stared at each of the Great White Dragon's three heads, "I thought Blue Eyes _White _Dragon was huge. This one's even bigger and it's not even working for us!"

Vaasth commanded Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to attack Seto, who was able to duck from all three shots by flattening himself to the ground. As his right arm became outstretched, Vaasth could see a silver bracelet on his wrist.

"So that's why you're alive!" she exclaimed, "You're feeding off someone else's energy." She quickly glanced around the room at the others, "I wonder who's being generous…and of course, _you_ are! I should have known." She approached Hermione, who put her other hand on top of her bracelet so Vaasth couldn't rip it off. "So you're a donor for the second time, hmm? A foolish mistake, my dear. _I_'ve got most of your energy – eventually you won't be able to keep him going. Then I won't have to worry about either of you!"

Hermione just glared at her.

"By that time, you'll be gone," said Yami.

"I don't think so," she said. Aiming her staff at Dark Necrofear, a bright orange jet burst out the end and surrounded her monster. Within moments, the one creature split into eleven.

"Oh man!" said Tristan, "That's not good!"

Vaasth commanded Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to attack Seto again. He cast a protection spell in the nick of time, but the force of the blast sent him back.

/I wish you'd let me help you!/

**/I can do this…/**

/Don't try it _this _time, Seto. She managed to _kill _you! While I'm grateful that you were revived, you can't destroy this woman alone…. Don't go down this dark, overconfident path that will get you killed – again!/

**/This isn't Star Wars. She killed me and I'm going to get rid of her. Plain and simple./**

/…What's Star Wars?/

Gozaburo was lazily toying with his Dark Necrofear clone. It wasn't until the monster tried to finally blast him did he silently destroy it. Alex wasn't having too much luck in getting rid of Dark Necrofear. The fiend was too powerful for his Dark Blade and Pitch Dark Dragon to handle. Tristan's Thunder Kid was doing an okay job at dodging Dark Necrofear (now being dubbed as DN). His little body jumped and rolled in every different direction. Joey finally managed to get rid of his DN and turned to help Alex with his troubles.

Tea on the other hand, noticed her DN didn't have a shadow. "Of course!" she exclaimed, "There are all fake images of the real thing!" She turned to her Dark Witch, "Shed some light over here!" With the extra light in the room, the real Dark Necrofear (the one with a shadow) was exposed on the other side of the room, giving Crump a hard time. After ending up on Seiryu's receiving end, the other fake Dark Necrofear copies disappeared as well.

"About time those things left," Alex muttered.

Vaasth waved her staff at the silver cuff on Hermione's wrist. The bracelet began to burn under her hand. Gasping, Hermione withdrew her hand, creating the opening Vaasth needed. With another swift staff movement, she destroyed the silver bracelet. "It seems, my dear Seto, you'll be rejoining the dead _very _soon. Without your sweetheart's energy donation, you'll be gone within I'd say twenty minutes tops."

"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you?" Seto winced, getting back onto his feet.

"And as for you," said Vaasth, ignoring his comment and turning to Hermione, "For someone I thought would be nearly no trouble at all, are you are terribly meddlesome! It's time you were dismissed as well."

Hermione backed away, and right into Roan, who held her so she couldn't escape. Vaasth placed her hand on Hermione's forehead. Immediately, Hermione could feel her energy rapidly escaping into Vaasth.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" yelled Joey. He made to run over, but found Vaasth had immobilized him, "Hey! I can't move!"

"Me neither!" cried Tristan.

**/While she has Blue Eyes Ultimate and that staff of hers, I don't think we can win this!/**

/We can, Yugi! We just need a way to disarm her of those weapons!/

**/I don't see how. We can't move!/**

Vaasth glanced around at the others. "Kill two birds – lovebirds – with one stone." Keeping her one hand in "draining" mode, she aimed her staff behind her at Seto, when a sword collided with the staff. It didn't stab through it, but the hit knocked her scepter out of her hands. It rolled across the floor near Gozaburo's feet.

Vaasth's eyes widened. _No! Not again!_ She took her hand off of Hermione, breaking her drain and the spell on the others. She made to lunge for her staff when a voice made her stop.

"My Lady, no!"

She turned towards Graydon, who was standing in the other doorway.

"What is it _now_, Graydon? Now that you've decided to go traitor, you think you can stop me as well?"

Her once-loyal soldier shook his head, "I want you to see reason! You can still get you ultimate power – the achievements you desire…but trying to destroy these innocent lives isn't the way! Your hunger for power has turned your own people against you. And now you're trying to kill these young people! They have done nothing to you!"

"And I suppose you've forgotten about the riddle? 'End the Lady's reign and recover the lost, but beware the victorious cost!' Obviously, _they_ are going to try and rid the world of me!"

"The riddle was broken," said Graydon, "They still are going to try and end your tyrannical reign, but the cost was this young man's death. However, he was revived. They've already recovered their lost possessions. Perhaps ending your reign is merely bringing peace between ruler and subjects!"

"You know, Graydon, I don't think that would work," she said, "There will never be peace as long as I rule this land. Even if I was defeated someone new would command over Syndrose. The people will never be satisfied. As far as I'm concerned, these travelers are intruders bent on destroying me, and I will make sure that doesn't happen. And as enemies of my order you will _all _perish tonight, and Graydon, being the ever-so-loyal-traitor, you will die first." She waved her hands at Graydon. Though without a scepter, black bolts of energy shot out of her palms hitting Graydon in his chest. He crumpled, and didn't rise.

While everyone seemed shocked at Graydon's sudden death, Vaasth shrugged it off, "You can see what becomes of traitors here. As members of the Resistance Movement, you will all be taken care of. You've lasted longer than I thought, Seto," she said, "Congratulations. Now it's your turn." She sent her magic towards him. Seto dropped to the floor, landing on his injured arm. At the same time, Gozaburo waved her staff, blocking the attack with white bolts of energy.

Vaasth sneered at him, "So this is why you came back, old man. You wanted to see that the brats you so despise made it past me alive."

"I'd watch what you say, since I believe I stalled your reign last time," said Gozaburo, twirling the staff in his hand, "You're not as powerful without your toy, huh?"

"That was then, fool. With the Great White Dragon, I don't need that scepter!"

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon began sending out its signature attacks. Twirling Vaasth's scepter, Gozaburo blocked all three blasts with ease. "Let's do something different," he said. Walking over to Seto and picking up his sword from the remains of the Dragon Capture Jar, he held the scepter out to his stepson. "Destroy it."

Seto took his sword, "Don't mind if I do."

Vaasth's eyes widened, _No! How could I have missed this? This is exactly how the old man defeated me before! _

Seto brought the sword down on the scepter. To everyone's - minus Vaasth - surprise, nothing happened to it.

"What!?"

"I've absorbed so much energy from that staff, I can protect its destruction…and that's not all!"

The staff lit up and propelled the two back. Gozaburo flew into Leichtor and they both fell over. Seto hit both Tea and Yami and landed on the ground hard. The Millennium Rod skidded across the floor.

Alex ran to retrieve the Millennium Rod and the sword, which had also flown when the scepter fought back, when one of Ultimate Dragon's heads attacked him. He scrambled out of the way just in time.

"What are you going to do, warrior? No magic rod, no sword. Just you, me, and the Great White Dragon," said Vaasth, "What do you have to say?"

Seto picked himself off the floor. He glanced down at his bloodied arm, then to his right hand. _The glove! I forgot I was wearing it! _Seto looked at the glove, to the dragon, Vaasth, and back at the glove. _This gives me an idea. _"You forgot something," he smirked, "I don't need this either." He tossed his wand to Joey, "Break that and you're dead, Wheeler."

Vaasth didn't like the triumphant look on Seto's face, but remembered he tossed away his only weapon, "You gave away your only way of protecting yourself from me! The torture must have damaged your brain."

"For once, something is being done right," Seto said. He moved to stand directly in front of the middle dragon head.

"…And why aren't you dead yet?" asked Vaasth, suspicious, "I drained your energy source, you should be weaker and not stronger!"

"Hermione's not keeping me alive," said Seto, "He is." He pointed across the room.

"I admit, that was a twist," Vaasth blinked, "But it won't matter anymore! With nothing to protect yourself, you'll be dead before you hit the floor! Great Dragon, destroy him!"

Yami, his friends, and the Big 5 could only watch as three large attacks headed towards Seto, who seemed calm as ever. However, he stuck out his right hand, his gloved palm angled slightly towards the ceiling. The attacks, merging into one large blast, hit his hand, then redirected and hit the center of the throne ceiling.

"I don't need to take your dragon to destroy you," said Seto coldly, "You can do it to yourself."

Vaasth shot back, "I just won't attack! You won't be redirecting my attacks, and I won't be destroyed."

"You know, son," Gozaburo walked up next to Seto, "I'm pretty tired of this place. What do you think?"

Seto glared at him, "You can't be tired of this place until she's tortured you like she's done me…but let's get this over with." He shook out his hand as Gozaburo pushed back his red coat sleeves, raising his wand. A silver energy bracelet was on his left wrist.

"Are Kaiba and Gozaburo workin' together?" Tristan whispered.

"Seems so…weird huh?" Joey whispered back.

Gozaburo raised his wand at the Great White Dragon, "Imperio!"

Vaasth looked up at her dragon, "My, _that_ was impressive. Nothing happened! What was that supposed to do?"

"Wait for it…" Hermione said quietly.

Vaasth's eyes widened when the three heads began to create an attack, "No! What are you doing? Stop!"

"Gozaburo is controlling the Great White Dragon, commanding it to attack!" said Yami, "So much for not attacking."

The blasts melded once more, and once again, Seto redirected the attack – this time at Vaasth. The blast moved with such speed, she didn't have time to brace or cast a defense. The white light completely surrounded her. The brightness caused everyone to shield their eyes, but they could hear her painful shriek. When the light faded, Vaasth was gone, and her scepter disappeared.

For a moment nobody spoke.

"…So that's it?" asked Nesbitt, "She's gone?"

Hermione sighed of relief, watching the last part of the pendant light up "Yes! We did it!" She ran up and hugged Seto tightly, "We passed the last test!"

Seto gasped, "Hermione, you're killing me again!" She quickly withdrew and he clutched his arm. He sat down in Vaasth's throne, winded, "Glad that's over," he muttered.

"Why didn't you use the glove earlier?" asked Tea.

Seto shook his head, "I wasn't strong enough. That used a lot of energy to redirect that attack."

Joey crossed the room to where Vaasth last stood and picked up a shiny capsule off of the floor. He handed it to Seto, "Here ya go, Kaiba. Seems kinda fitting you have this. How'd you come back to life, anyway? Weren't you dead?"

Gozaburo, "Well…"

FLASHBACK

_Gozaburo entered the dungeon chamber. "Well, well. Good job, Seto! You managed to get yourself killed and I wasn't able to do it!"_

_He looked around the room, and then destroyed the screen on the wall. _Interesting torture room…

_Hermione ran back in a few minutes later, a silver bracelet in her hands. She attached one to Seto's wrist, and another on herself. "If this works, I can't keep him going for long. Vaasth drained me of my energy a while ago. You have to put this one on too."_

_Gozaburo raised an eyebrow, "You want _me_ to revive _him_. He's better off to me dead."_

_Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently, "You came here to get all of us out. In order to do that, we have to revive Seto, and you're the other living person in here besides me!"_

_Gozaburo scowled but put on the silver bracelet, "You'll probably have to stimulate his heart to bring him back. We can probably get one of these torture toys to zap him awake."_

"_Those things killed him though!"_

"_How ironic for Vaasth knowing her killer toys can do some good," said Gozaburo. He glanced over at the table, grabbing various instruments. _

"_Wait," said Hermione, "Can we at least let him down from there?"_

"_You need the key to the locks, no?"_

_Hermione grinned and held up a skinny golden key._

_Gozaburo, "Stole it off her while asking for his wand, didn't you? Sneaky little witch."_

_Placing his limp body on the ground, Gozaburo placed an instrument on his forehead and chest, "Hopefully these things have some shock value to them."_

_Hermione held Seto's hand and turned on the bracelets. The two mysterious devices seemed to be doing something, but she couldn't tell if it was working. _

_After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione felt his hand tighten around hers. "Seto?" she whispered. About a minute later, his head moved to one side and he slowly opened his eyes._

_Tears glistened in her eyes, "Welcome back."_

END FLASHBACK

"Speaking of energy," said Tea, "Maybe Happy Lover can give you guys a power boost!" She summoned her cheery fairy, and it immediately began sending its wave of pink hearts out to Gozaburo, Seto, and Hermione.

"That feels wonderful," Hermione sighed.

"Here's something I've been wondering," said Leichtor, "What killed you anyway?"

"Stupid little toy of hers," said Seto, pointing at the bloodstained dart among the pieces of the Dragon Capture Jar, "When you left me she must've activated it at least three times. I guess that was it."

The bright white doorway appeared in the middle of the throne.

"Guess that's our ride outta here," said Joey, "We can finally go home!" He handed Seto back his wand and ran through the doorway.

"Hey, Joey! Wait for the rest of us!" Tristan exclaimed and he ran through after him.

"Hermione dear, wait!"

The rest of them turned to see Tanny running up to them.

"What is it, Tanny?"

"You all saved us from Lady Vaasth. So many of us are forever in your debt. As a token of our gratitude, I want to give you these, see." Tanny held out two capsules. "The normal looking one is for you, dear. The strange blue one is for your handsome friend!" She smiled at Seto, "Dear, I'm terribly sorry what happened to you these past couple of days. I had no idea what she had planned. I want you to use this blue capsule. You can only use it once and only once – you'll know when the time is right."

Seto nodded.

"Oh! Before I forget!" Tanny dug into her apron pocket and unrolled some bandages. Strapping his arm back up, she smiled, "When you get home, get that looked at. Lady Vaasth is – was – vicious when it came to her little toys."

"Thank you," Hermione gave Tanny a warm hug, "Thank you for everything!" With a last glance at Tanny, she walked through the doorway. When the rest of the group made it to the other side, Tea noticed something odd.

"Hey," she said, "We still have our monsters!"

"Maybe their complimentary gifts for beating all the challenges," said Joey.

"There you are!" said Gansley from the top of the stairs, "Took you long enough!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" said Joey, "How come Gansley's got a capsule shooter! He didn't enter the world with us!"

"No," Gozaburo smirked, "He came through with us the first time. You see, we've been here before."

"You have?"

"Yes," Gozaburo pulled out an amulet from his pocket.

Hermione brought a hand to her neck, fingering the identical jewel around her neck.

"There's a room at the top of the pyramid for those who complete the six challenges, where the person to enter will receive the ultimate power! The amulets are the key to the room. However, there's two keys needed and –"

"You made sure we entered the game so we got the last key. You sabotaged our flight home, and used him to get us inside," Seto said, pointing to Alex.

"That's right, Seto. However, Brisbane failed me. He failed to bring you back out of the game in a certain time slot. Because of that, I had to alter my ever-so-busy schedule to save you brats," said Gozaburo, "Failure is not an option."

Alex stepped back, "No! Wait, please. Don-"

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light and Alex Brisbane was dead before he hit the floor. Gozaburo stepped over his body and relieved him of his capsules. The elder Kaiba then aimed his wand at Hermione, "Now, my dear, I'll need that amulet. Hand it over, and no one will get hurt."

"There's no way I'm giving my amulet to someone like you!"

Gozaburo scowled and lowered his wand, "You need persuading, it seems? Perhaps I'll call Mr. Malfoy…"

"No!" Hermione cried. She wasn't afraid of Draco, but she was hatching another idea.

"You'll give it to me then?" Gozaburo outstretched his hand.

Hermione nodded slowly and stole a glance at Seto.

Somehow, by her look, Seto was able to tell what she was going to do.

Hermione took off the amulet and held it out to Gozaburo, just out of his reach. "Here," she said, "You want it…"

Gozaburo took a step forward.

"…then go catch it!" She quickly spun around and flung it as hard as she could towards the map.

"NO!" Gozaburo quickly aimed his wand. _I can't let it fall into the map! _"Accio amulet!"

Before he could grab it, Seto jumped up and caught it. He turned and threw it to Joey, "Get it out of here, Wheeler!"

_Stupid brats!_ "What are you fools waiting for? Catch those brats!" Gozaburo yelled. Joey had thrown the amulet to Tristan who ran up the stairs and out of the room, knocking old Gansley over in the process.

It was like a Frisbee game. Yugi (now in control) and his friends were already at the main level running towards the exit.

"We can't let Gozaburo get hold of this amulet," said Yugi. He stopped short before falling into the chasm they edged across from before. "Uh oh…this won't be easy."

"What if we get _their_ amulet and beat them to the power?" said Tristan, "We don't want it, so then we can just go home!"

"Worth a shot. Accio amulets!" said Hermione.

However, she wasn't the only one who said that. Before they could zoom into her hand, they turned directions and Gozaburo caught them, heading up another staircase to the top of the pyramid.

With the Big 5 behind him, Gozaburo aimed his wand at the others, and casting a silent spell, conjured a barrier.

Joey ran into the barrier first. "Ow!! What the hell did he do?"

"He slowed us down," said Hermione, "Reducto!"

When the wall cleared, they ran up the stairs. Gozaburo and the Big 5 were huddled around a door. Gozaburo placed both amulets in their respective keyholes. The keys disappeared into the door and there was a small click. The doors started to open when Seto lunged forward and held Gozaburo back, "Don't even _think_ about it! We worked far too hard to let you get ahead."

Crump tried to run through the doorway, but Tea tripped him. Gozaburo, with the help of Leichtor and Nesbitt, tried slipping through the doorway and knocking Seto off, but Joey tackled him. Johnson and Gansley tried opening the doors wider to allow themselves room to get inside, but lost their balance. The other side of the door didn't seem to have a floor, and they had to grab onto Gozaburo to avoid falling.

They ended up dragging Gozaburo with them, who grabbed onto Seto's leg. Joey and Tristan each grabbed Seto's arm, but it was up to Leichtor, Crump, Nesbitt, Yugi, Hermione and Tea to keep them all from falling. When it was too heavy for the people at the top to support, they all fell into the darkness.

They continued to fall until a strange force stopped them. Floating in a mysterious place, a bright light from behind Tea revealed Shadi.

"Shadi?? What's he doing here?"

"You have all passed the trials of the Capsule Monsters in hopes of achieving the power to rule the world," said the Egyptian, "Well done. However the one worthy of being a true king can have this power."

"That power is mine! I opened the door first!"

"Shut up, Gozabozo!" said Joey, "We won't let you have it!"

"In order to see who is worthy, you will face off in one last test. You must fight your enemy using any and all of the capsules you have collected on your journey. The winning team will have destroyed all of the other team's monsters. Good luck!"

Shadi disappeared and an arena appeared.

"We'll take 'em on - one each," said Yami, taking control, "I'll take Gansley." Yami summoned his Celtic Guardian, Dark Magician and Black Luster Soldier, merging with Black Luster Soldier.

"We meet again, Yugi. However, you won't succeed," said Gansley, "I summon Deep Sea Warrior, Water Dragon, Legendary Fisherman, and Exodia's Left Arm!"

"How about a trip back to the icebergs, my dear?" asked Crump, "I summon Nightmare Penguin, Penguin Soldier, Mobius the Frost Monarch, and Exodia's Left Leg. Try to get past that!"

"Shouldn't be hard, Bird-Brain! I call my Happy Lover, Dark Witch, and Seiryu!"

"Justice is about to be served," said Johnson, "And you're about to receive your conviction!"

Joey stared at Johnson's Judgeman, Reaper of the Cards, Hysteric Angel, and Exodia's Right Arm. _What's with all the Exodia pieces? _"Those losers you call monsters don't seem so tough. Especially when compared to my Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, and my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

"Your pathetic excuses for creatures don't stand a chance against my montage of machines! Just be glad there's no robot monkey around with your name on it!" Nesbitt said, looking at all three of Tristan's monsters and summoning Robotic Knight, Machine King, Perfect Machine King, and Exodia's Right Leg.

"Yea, yea, yeah. Whatever you say. Just remember who lost that duel, Nesbitt!"

"If I remember correctly, Taylor, you lost that duel."

_Oh yea…oops. _"Shut up!"

"Don't think I'll go easy on you because you're a girl," said Leichtor, "I hope you're ready for a challenge, my dear!" He summoned Jinzo, Satellite Cannon, Injection Fairy Lily, Exodia the Forbidden One (the head).

"Bring it on," said Hermione, "And don't think my Harpies will go easy on you, because you're going to be creamed!" She loaded her capsules and shot out Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon, and the Harpie Lady Sisters – Tanny's gift.

"It's just you and me now, Seto. We're facing off once again, but _this_ time, you won't slip away from me!" Gozaburo smirked, "I summon Pitch Dark Dragon and Dark Blade!"

Seto paused loading his capsule, "Those are Brisbane's monsters. Where are your own?"

"You'll see those later. Why ruin the surprise?"

_What's he hiding? _"Very well then, if you're going to use those pathetic excuses for monsters, I'll just annihilate you sooner! Come out Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, Blue Eyes White Dragon, and Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"Bit of a 'Blue Eyes' fetish going on there, no?" Gozaburo chuckled.

Seto raised an eyebrow, "I'm not the one using a dead man's weak monsters."

Each pair glared their opponents down. "_Let's do this! Attack!_"

* * *

I'm almost positive parts of that chapter probably didn't make much sense. If you find something like that, feel free to tell me so I can edit it. I've worked on this so long; I'm not sure what's happened with this…

The sixth challenge is over (only took six chapters!)!

Everyone's facing off…but who will win? You can still guess Gozaburo's monsters, and I've left pretty obvious hints around, so it shouldn't be hard to piece together. And what's the mysteriously blue capsule? And why am I asking you that?

As a poor college freshman, the purple button is back at his desk job. Not only does he do desk tidying and phone answering, he also is a statistics tutor! Imagine that! (Stats sucks, don't take it in college unless you have to!). If only he cleaned the dorm too…

Below are the monster listings.

* * *

Monsters:

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon

Seto: Blue Eyes White Dragon, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, mysterious blue capsule.

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon

Gansley: Deep Sea Warrior, Water Dragon, Legendary Fisherman, Exodia's Left Arm

Crump: Nightmare Penguin, Penguin Soldier, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Exodia's Left Leg

Johnson: Judgeman, Reaper of the Cards, Hysteric Angel, Exodia's Right Arm

Nesbitt: Robotic Knight, Perfect Machine King, Exodia's Right Leg

Leichtor: Jinzo, Satellite Cannon, Injection Fairy Lily, Exodia the Forbidden One

Gozaburo: Pitch Dark Dragon, Dark Blade, ?? ??


	19. Chapter 19

Here I am yet again! I've been taking a little break on this story to try my hand at a mystery for the Halloween season (which is now over - the season, not the story). Rest assured, I'm working on this story as much as I can, but school – college – isn't easy, regardless of what people may have told you. Procrastination is _not _an option.

But enough about that, let's move on, shall we?

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

I don't own YGO or HP. By now, you should know who does and it's not me.

Monsters:

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Joey: Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Red Eyes Black Dragon

Seto: Blue Eyes White Dragon, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Blue Eyes Baby Dragon, mysterious blue capsule.

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon, Harpie Lady Sisters

Gansley: Deep Sea Warrior, Water Dragon, Legendary Fisherman, Exodia's Left Arm

Crump: Nightmare Penguin, Penguin Soldier, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Exodia's Left Leg

Johnson: Judgeman, Reaper of the Cards, Hysteric Angel, Exodia's Right Arm

Nesbitt: Robotic Knight, Perfect Machine King, Exodia's Right Leg

Leichtor: Jinzo, Satellite Cannon, Injection Fairy Lily, Exodia the Forbidden One

Gozaburo: Pitch Dark Dragon, Dark Blade, ?? ??

Whew! That list has gotten really long! I hope I got 'em all.

* * *

Chapter 19

Gozaburo stared down at Seto, who had dropped to one knee, clutching his side as his Blue Eyes White Dragon had been injured. "I can't see how you intend to beat me with your condition, Seto. Why don't you just admit defeat now and save yourself the agony?"

Seto slowly got to his feet, "Losing to _you _is not on my agenda."

"Well then," Gozaburo smirked, nearly hovering over the fallen teen, "I'd change your strategy then, because your current one is failing."

Seto returned the smirk, "My thoughts exactly." Grabbing his fallen sword, he whipped it around so fast, it knocked the Death Eater right off of his feet.

"Impressive, son, but two can play that game." Gozaburo stood up and pulled out his wand. Prepared, Seto whipped out his wand; ready to block whatever curse the man was ready to throw. However, Gozaburo aimed his weapon at himself, chanted a nonverbal spell and golden armor identical to Yugi and Seto's appeared. "You don't have the strength to activate your sword. Without merging with your precious dragons, you'll be defeated rather quickly."

"Just try it," Seto snapped, bringing his sword to meet Gozaburo's.

* * *

"Still nothing!" Mokuba cried, "Darn you, Seto and your extra-hack-proof security measures!" He pouted in the CEO's chair.

Roland sighed, "Those measures are there to prevent sabotage, and they're not made to be broken."

Mokuba jumped slightly when the call button on the desk phone chirped. _"Mr. Kaiba, there are three individuals seeking a meeting with you._"

Mokuba sighed pushed a button to speak with the secretary, "Who are they?"

"_Two men and a woman, sir, but I told them you were quite busy…"_

"Let them in," said Mokuba, hiding the Burger World bag under the desk. Roland opened the office door to admit Moody, Remus and Tonks.

"Hello Mokuba," said Remus, "I don't know if you know us or not, but we're wizards. Your brother knows us."

"Umm…okay."

"We've learned that dark wizards have stopped your brother's return home," said Moody, "We need to know if there are any others close to you."

"Why would there be dark wizards in Kaiba Corp?"

"Because the old owner, Gozaburo Kaiba was one of these bad guys," said Tonks, "If his old cronies still work here – and are Death Eaters – you could be in danger right now!"

"Gozaburo – a Death Eater?" Mokuba asked, "That doesn't seem possible."

"It is," Moody growled, "I need to see some files or whatnot of the folk that work here."

Mokuba frowned, "I don't know where Seto keeps those files, and he's not here right now."

"Yes, we know, his plane crashed," said Tonks, "Do you know where that point was?"

Mokuba shook his head, "Some island. There's a rescue squad out looking, but they haven't reported in yet."

Moody growled, "Then in the meantime, we need to make sure you're safe from Voldemort and Gozaburo. How well do you know this man?" He nodded his head toward Roland.

"Roland? No, no! There is _no_ way Roland is bad! He's like a father to me!"

"Has he taken any drinks within the past so many hours?"

"Well," Mokuba brought out his takeout bag, "We were eating before, so yea."

"What does he do?"

Roland stiffened. He wasn't very keen on being labeled as a suspect, "I'm both Seto and Mokuba Kaiba's bodyguard."

Moody produced a strange instrument and placed it onto Seto's desk, "It's a Sneakoscope** (1)**," he said, "It spins around annoyingly when there are untrustworthy people around." The Sneakoscope just sat there.

"Can you tell us anything about this?" Remus showed the younger Kaiba the news clipping from _Elite Dueling._

"Oh, the suspicious deaths," said Mokuba, "It was weird. The investigators ruled those deaths as a tragic accident. Although the bodies showed no sort of harm whatsoever, they think there were wires shorting out that those guys came into contact with. They worked in the tech department."

"Don't you have those things around the building?" Tonks pointed to the security camera, silently recording the conversation in the office.

"Yea, but security was doing system checks on them and they were down at the time of the accident."

Moody frowned, "Those things recording what we say?"

"They're silent tapes, so the guards watching in the security office won't be following the conversation – unless they're really good at reading lips."

"Do you have the names of the workers who were killed?"

"Umm, it should be in here somewhere," said Mokuba, opening the drawers in the CEO's desk.

* * *

**/It seems too weird that we actually want to defeat an old man. Imagine if it was Grandpa fighting against us!/**

/But it's _not _Grandpa, Yugi. Gansley's evil. Don't take it too personally. Think of it as we're just defending ourselves against him./

**/Even though you just ran up to his Deep Sea Warrior and destroyed it?/**

/Yugi, Yugi…I destroyed it so we won't have to worry about it destroying _us_./

**/Plus, you really wanted to get rid of it…/**

/Well, that too./

On the other side of the arena, Johnson winced as Flame Swordsman took out his Hysteric Angel.

"Take that, Johnson! Not so tough now, are ya?" Joey grinned, "There's no way I'm letting you beat me." He ran forward, climbing onto his Red Eyes' back, "C'mon, Red Eyes, let's show Johnson what we're made of!"

The dragon let out a loud roar and sent out a fireball toward Judgeman. However, Johnson ordered Exodia's right arm to intercept.

"What the – why do you even have Exodia's arm anyway?"

"You'll see, Joseph. Now, Reaper, take out his Baby Dragon!"

"Uh oh. Run little guy! Red Eyes, help him out!" Red Eyes' fireball was released too late. Reaper of the Cards swung its scythe, destroying the little dragon. Immediately, Joey felt the worst headache of his life.

Nesbitt was having worse luck than Johnson. He doubled over as Robotic Knight was taken out. "You'll pay for that, Monkey boy. Perfect Machine King, destroy his Thunder – what the?" He could only watch as the ground under his prized machine monster gave away, destroying it. Shovel Crusher came out of its tunnel and created another.

"Haha! Yea, it pays to have your own demolition team!"

He circled around Nesbitt, passing Tea, who was trying to barbeque a couple of penguins.

"Barbeque bird anyone?"

"No!" Crump cried, "Not my Penguin Soldier! You'll pay for that, missy! Mobius, destroy that pathetic excuse for a fairy!"

_No, not Happy Lover! _"Seiryu, protect Happy Lover!" Tea cried. Seiryu flew over, but before it could block Crump's attack, a humongous white beam tore through and shattered Mobius the Frost Monarch. He turned angrily to the source of the new attack to end up facing Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Tea's eyes widened. _Kaiba just saved my monsters – but why? _

Seto collapsed to the ground beside her, completely winded. "I need a boost."

"Do your thing, Happy Lover," she said, "What happened?"

Seto nodded towards where he was fighting Gozaburo. His stepfather was unconscious on the ground. Both Pitch Dark Dragon and Dark Blade were destroyed. "We pretty much forgot about monsters once he revealed his armor."

"He's got armor?"

Seto nodded, "He knows how to use it too. He drew his sword and it was one clash after another. All three dragons just pretty much sat there watching until his monsters decided a sneak attack. Long story short, it didn't work."

Tea glanced to where Gozaburo had fallen, "What are his monsters?"

"He hasn't summoned any yet. Just Alex's, which is making me – Crump has an Exodia piece?"

"Yea, each one of the Big 5 has one."

Seto looked around. All but one of the Exodia limbs was still on the field. He narrowed his eyes, "Don't destroy Crump's Exodia piece. Whatever you do, _don't destroy it_."

"But why not?"

Seto got up, "Because Gozaburo will want you to." He headed back toward his step-father, recalling his Blue Eyes Baby Dragon back to its capsule. She turned back to face Crump, but he had gone to aid Leichtor.

"Need some help?" asked Crump.

"What does it look like?" Leichtor snapped, "I'm down to Exodia's head and Jinzo, and she hasn't lost anything – or broken a sweat. She's using her wand against me!"

Crump smirked, "Don't worry about it. I'll help you."

Hermione sent her Harpies out on Jinzo, and aimed her wand at Crump before he could chant an order. Before she could send an angry flock of birds towards the penguin duelist, Gozaburo's voice made everyone pause in their fights.  
"Nightmare Penguin! Judgeman! Legendary Fisherman! Jinzo! I sacrifice you all to summon the Seven-armed Fiend!"

The gang scrambled back away from Gozaburo and the Big 5 as the large monster came into view, taller to all of the other monsters, even slightly taller than Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

Joey blinked, his mouth wide open, "That is one _ugly_ monster."

"There's got to be some way to defeat it," said Yami, "Although we know the bigger they are, the more difficult they are."

"Yea," said Joey, "But the bigger they come, the harder they fall! C'mon Red Eyes!" Joey flew toward the massive monster, "Let's show him a thing or two!"

"Joey, wait!" Tea cried, "It's too dangerous!"

Gozaburo smirked, "Seven-armed Fiend, defend!" As if it was swatting a bug out of its face, the fiend knocked Joey's dragon aside with ease, knocking them down to the ground.

"You alright, man?" asked Tristan.

Joey picked himself up irritated, "You think you're so tough just 'cuz you've got thirty-five fingers, huh?"

"Give it up," said Gozaburo, "Seven-armed Fiend is practically impossible to destroy. Each one of its seven arms has its own special ability, and I'll introduce them to you one by one. The first is a personal favorite of mine – the Arm of the Skulls!"

"Arm of the Skulls?" said Tea, "I don't like the sound of that."

Coming seemingly out of nowhere, an army of skeleton warriors marched out from behind Gozaburo and charged towards the group.

"Aw man! Not another round of zombies!" Joey cried, "Didn't we face enough zombies before?"

"Stop complaining, Wheeler," Seto snapped, "Blue Eyes, finish off these piles of bones with Neutron Blast!"

The three heads were successful in wiping out most of the skeleton army, but Gozaburo hadn't given up just yet. "I don't think so, Seto. Activate, Arm of Regeneration!" Within mere moments, all of the previously destroyed minions had been revived, now once more circling the group.

"Oh man! Now they're back!"

The skeletons soared through air, knocking Joey off of his monster once more.

"You know," he said bitterly, "I'm really getting' tired of these creeps!"

"Are you alright, Joey?" asked Yami, running over.

Gozaburo grinned, "And now, the second arm – entrapment!" Tea flew on her dragon to approach Yugi and the others when long arms shot out of the ground and grabbed hold of Seiryu's wings. Shaking the dragon violently, the hands knocked Tea off. Luckily, Tristan caught her before she crashed into the stone floor.

"Oh man," she cried, "Now what?"

"With that entrapment ability, we're going to have to fight that thing from the ground," said Hermione. Once those words escaped her lips, numerous skeleton soldiers surrounded the group.

"I'm really starting to hate these things," said Tristan.

"Then get rid of them," said Seto, "White Lightning and Neutron Blast!"

"Arm of Regeneration!"

"Is it just me or whenever he makes 'em come back to life there's more skeletons," said Tristan.

Hermione whipped out her wand and ran in front of the others. "_Confringo_!" A large bean of light burst from her wand as she flourished it towards the skeletons. The beam followed her wand's path, shooting through skeleton after skeleton – those hit shattered apart to the ground.

The Big 5, their eyes as big as saucers, glanced at Gozaburo, who's face had shock written all over it.

"I think we're screwed," Crump whispered to Gansley.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," said Joey, "You got rid of the skeleton army in one strike!"

"You think so, Wheeler?" said Gozaburo, "Arm of Regeneration!"

"We need to take out Bigfoot's brother," said Seto, "Yugi and I will work on that and you guys get rid of those annoying skeletons."

Yami gripped his Black Luster Soldier sword, "Chaos Blade Strike!" He leapt up, preparing to strike its head; however he heard Gozaburo activate the fiend's defense arm and smacked right into it. Yami fell back down and crashed at the fiend's enormous feet.

"I've toyed with you brats long enough," said Gozaburo, "So now I'll put you all out of your misery by revealing my Seven-armed Fiend's most devastating one – the Arm of Destruction!"

One of the fiend's arms began forming a giant orange destructive ball in its palm.

"Oh no!" Tea cried, "That thing's aiming for Hermione!"

Hermione, who was fighting off several skeletons, couldn't prepare a defense against the blast in time. She raised her capsule shooter-shield to protect herself when someone stepped in front of her, blocking the blast.

"What the – Seto! What are you doing?"

"Get back, Hermione!"

"You're going to get yourself killed…again, if you're not careful!"

"Don't worry about me," he snapped, bracing for the blast. The beam hit Seto dead on – but nothing happened. To her relief, Hermione saw that Seto's glove had stopped the blast and deflected it at _Gozaburo_.

"What the –" Gozaburo stuck his gloved hand out just in time. He also redirected the attack (which grew when reflected) and sent it back toward his stepson.

The others could only watch as the blast grew bigger with every bounce, and neither end was willing to give up.

_If I get hit with this thing, there'll be no way we'll be able to win – not with these fools on my team_, Gozaburo thought. _I'll just have to make sure I don't lose. _He waited for the right timing opportunity then activated his fiend's arm of destruction once more.

Seto had to brace his arm against his left to keep his palm out. The beam was so intense it could have rivaled his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon by now. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his glove smoking against the beam. He heard someone behind him – either Hermione or Tea – shout for him to duck, but he couldn't figure out why until the destruction arm's blast was right on top of him. The fiend's blast hit him head on. Slipping away, Seto was unable to hold Gozaburo's rebound off. His entire body practically on fire, he was unconscious before he hit the ground.

"Kaiba!" The others rushed over as Gozaburo stood beside his monstrous fiend, triumph etched on his face.

"He's not…"

"No," said Yami, "He's not dead. Somehow I can sense he's there."

Joey looked at the smoking glove, "Must've been one heck-of-a-blast."

"This puts at a huge disadvantage," said Hermione, checking his wrist for a pulse, "We're not only down a team member, but we're short on the magic armor too! And what are we going to do with his dragons?"

Yami bent over and took Blue Eyes Baby Dragon out of its holder, "We'll need all the power we can get. Joey, you lost Baby Dragon, take this one as a substitute for now."

Joey took the baby Blue Eyes capsule and pocketed it. Standing back up, Yami turned to face Gozaburo, missing the blue capsule sitting innocently on the ground. _Your sacrifice won't be in vain, Kaiba. We'll win this, don't worry. _

_Now that Seto's out of the way, there's no way those brats will be able to win. Seto's the only one who knows how to defeat my ultimate monster…and I think now's the time to bring him out! _"Go, Seven-armed Fiend! Activate your destruction arm!"

"Oh man! We're done for!"

"Destroy the remaining fragments of Exodia!"

"WHAT??" Joey's mouth could have dropped to the floor, "Why would he destroy his own team's monsters?"

"And why don't the Big 5 seem to be peeved about it?" said Hermione, "Their destruction should leave a few defenseless!"

"Now I summon my greatest creature!" said Gozaburo triumphantly, "I activate the magic capsule, Contract with Exodia!" He placed a blue capsule into his shooter. The five pieces of Exodia appeared, surrounded in a dark blue glow. The fragments lowered themselves into a large black hole that appeared next to Seven-armed Fiend. The same navy glow shot out of the hole, along with a 'twin' of Exodia – this one a darker color than the regular gold-tinted Exodia the Forbidden One. "Meet Exodia Necross!"

"That is one big monster," said Tristan, "But not as big as that fiend."

"I've never heard of Exodia Necross before," said Yami, "And I'm sure that thing has a whole slew of abilities."

"How right you are, Yugi," said Gozaburo, "As long as the five pieces of Exodia are gone, my monster gains special abilities. However, only one person here knows how to destroy it."

"Yea?" Joey frowned, "Who's that?"

"Only Seto knows the one way to defeat it, and I don't see him sharing the secret any time soon."

Tristan pouted to the others, "Why is this game always against us?"

"Well, we'll knock Exodia down to size!" Joey exclaimed, "Hey Blue Eyes Ultimate? Think you can turn that thing into scrap?" Seto's dragon roared and spit out a triple wave toward the new arrival.

While he could have used his defense arm to block the attack, Gozaburo – smirking – chose to let the blast through. It hit Exodia Necross dead on, but the enemy stood standing.

"What the heck? That's not fair!"

"In Duel Monsters, Exodia Necross contains five special abilities. As long as the five pieces of Exodia are in the graveyard, it can't be destroyed in battle, or by magic, trap or monster effects. Plus, it gains 500 attack points after each battle. Now, in here there are obviously no magic or trap cards, or monster effects. Here, Necross can't be destroyed by magic or in battle, and it gets stronger after every hit."

"We're doomed!" Joey moaned.

"Now, Exodia Necross, attack Flame Swordsman!"

"Red Eyes, block his attack!"

"Arm of Entrapment!"

"Dammit." Joey fell to one knee as his favorite fire-wielding warrior fell.

"If we can't destroy Exodia Necross by battle or magic – and if it continuously gets stronger – then there's no way we can win!" Tea cried.

**/No! There is a way! We just have to find it!/**

/I agree, Yugi, but we're running out of time. Soon, Exodia Necross will be stronger than Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon and we won't be able to defeat it!/

**/Then we should work on a different strategy. Since Exodia Necross relies on the Seven-Armed Fiend for backup, we should take that out first!/**

/Good thinking, Yugi./ Yami turned to the others, "We need to take on that Seven-Armed Fiend before we can even start to worry about Exodia Necross. Scatter and attack!"

* * *

Well, happy Election Day everyone. Being an American, I'm paying close attention to the polls (and being a first time voter, it feels even more important to me – in this election, _every last vote _counts). Though by the time anyone reads this, the election will already be over! Well, there's the chapter for ya. Next time, the gang will finally go home (took 20 chapters but hey – my version of Capsule Monsters is _way _better than the actual stuff…even if it is a Harry Potter crossover…course that's a matter of opinion.) Thanks for reading and the monsters that everyone has left are below. Chao!

* * *

Between the good guys: Blue Eyes White Dragon, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Gansley: Water Dragon

Joey: Red Eyes Black Dragon, Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Johnson:, Reaper of the Cards,

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Nesbitt: no monsters

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu

Crump: no monsters

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon, Harpie Lady Sisters

Leichtor: no monsters

Seto: mysterious blue capsule.

Gozaburo: Seven-armed Fiend, Exodia Necross

**(1) **My Harry Potter books are at home, is that the correct term for the object? "Sneakoscope" doesn't look right but it seems close enough to whatever it's supposed to be…

Effects of 7 armed fiend:

1. Arm of the skulls

2. Arm of Regeneration

3. Arm of Entrapment

4. Arm of Defense

5. Arm of Destruction

6. Arm of Clairvoyance (which hasn't appeared yet in the story - OMG spoiler!)

7. Does anyone know the last ability?


	20. Chapter 20

Hello dear readers! Finally, the Capsule Monsters era is over! (About time too…). I should really stop trying to make deadlines for myself. I told myself this chapter would be up by Christmas, and here we are…almost two weeks later…ah well. I head back to college on Sunday so the next update will be…sometime…

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

I don't own YGO or HP. By now, you should know who does and it's not me.

Monsters:

Between the good guys: Blue Eyes White Dragon, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon

Yugi: Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Black Luster Soldier

Gansley: Water Dragon

Joey: Red Eyes Black Dragon, Blue Eyes Baby Dragon

Johnson:, Reaper of the Cards,

Tristan: Thunder Kid, Thunder Dragon, Shovel Crusher

Nesbitt: no monsters

Tea: Happy Lover, Dark Witch, Seiryu

Crump: no monsters

Hermione: Cyber Harpie, Harpie's Pet Dragon, Harpie Lady Sisters

Leichtor: no monsters

Seto: mysterious blue capsule.

Gozaburo: Seven-armed Fiend, Exodia Necross

* * *

Chapter 20

Yugi and the others commanded their monsters to attack the Seven-Armed Fiend, but it was no use. The enormous monster was able to block all of their attacks with ease, as if it had mind-reading abilities.

"You can't win," said Gozaburo, "My Seven-armed Fiend and Exodia Necross together will become stronger than all of the other monsters on the field – even your Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"We can't let Exodia Necross become too powerful," said Yami, "If it destroys enough of our monsters we won't be able to fight back!"

"But that thing can stop all of our attacks!" said Tea, "There's no way we can do a sneak attack! "How right you are, Gardner," said Leichtor, "Another of the fiend's special abilities is the Arm of clairvoyance!"

"No wonder we can't do anything to it – that thing's got ESP!" exclaimed Tristan.

"There has to be a way around that ability," said Yami, "Otherwise we're going to lose all of our monsters!"

"How right you are," said Gozaburo, "Exodia Necross, attack Dark Witch!"

"No, not Dark Witch!" Tea cried. She watched helplessly as the aid to her monster was stopped by the entrapment arm. "Good-bye, Dark Witch." She sunk down to her knees.

"Hey Red Eyes, blast Gansley's Water Dragon into next Tuesday!" Joey commanded. Red Eyes opened its mouth to open fire when Gozaburo activated the entrapment arm.

"Then Thunder Dragon, let's finish what Joey started!" Tristan said, "Attack!"

"Don't you know better than to attack an old man?" Gansley wheezed out.

"Ehh…maybe people like Gramps," said Joey, "Last time I checked, you don't live above a small and awesome game shop, so no. You old suits are the exception to the rule."

Yami ran forward, slicing Black Luster Soldier's sword through Reaper of the Cards, "Until we find a way around Seven-Armed Fiend, we should at least get rid of these monsters."

"Good idea, Yug'," said Joey, "Let's go, Red-Eyes! Clean up the field!"

Gozaburo glanced around the field, "You may have destroyed the smaller monsters on the field, but you don't stand a ghost of a chance against the combined power of Exodia Necross and Seven-Armed Fiend! Now, my monsters, attack the Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Hermione watched her dragon lose some of its fighting power as the sisters faded away.

**/I've got it, Yami! Since that creature can predict our every move, we just have to confuse it!/**

/But how, Yugi?/

**/Well, what if you trapped it inside the Millennium Puzzle?/**

/Yugi, I don't think that – you know, that just might work!/

**/What other choice do we have? The longer we sit around, Gozaburo has the ability to destroy our monsters – he just wiped out Shovel Crusher!/**

/Let's try it./

"Seven-Armed Fiend, attack Wheeler's Blue Eyes Baby Dragon!"

"No! Yami ran forward, stepping in front of Seto's dragon, "Attacking that creature is a waste of resources! You want to take me out instead!"

Gozaburo cocked an eyebrow, "Your funeral. Seven-Armed Fiend, redirect at him!"

From underneath the Duel Armor, the Millennium Puzzle began to glow. Holding his sword out in front, Yami charged toward Seven Armed Fiend.

_What are you planning this time? _Gozaburo mused. Tapping into the mind-reading abilities of his monster, he tried to find Yami's plan of attack. Instead, however, he saw nothing but endless corridors and floating doors in every direction. _What the –_

"Hey guys! Look at Bigfoot!" Tristan pointed at the fiend, who had stopped in its attack midswing.

_If I don't find my way out of this maze I'll lose! One of these blasted doors must have the way out of here,_ thought Gozaburo, _but which one? There's too many to go through all of them!_

His sword tight in hand, Yami darted toward the Seven-Armed Fiend.

"Why's Mr. Kaiba just standing there?" said Crump, "Looks like he blanked out!" They watched as Yami shot up and thrust his weapon right into the Fiend's chest. At the same time, Gozaburo was freed from the labyrinth inside the Millennium Puzzle. As the Seven-Armed Fiend crashed to the ground, Gozaburo gasped, clutching his chest.

He glared out at Yami and the others, "You may have taken out my Seven-Armed Fiend, but my Exodia Necross will only get stronger with every attack. Once it's stronger than Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, there isn't a monster available that will be able to stop me!"

"If that's true," said Tristan, "Why don't we call back all of our monsters, that way he won't get any stronger!"

"It'll be a stalemate then," said Joey, "Nobody will get anywhere, and quite frankly, I'd like to get home."

**/If only we found Seto sooner when we were stuck in Noa's virtual world! By the time we rescued him from his stepfather then, the duel was already over!/**

/Yes, but we should be able to figure out its weakness ourselves./

**/Hey – where's Set in all of this?/**

Yami looked about and located the Millennium Rod a ways behind Tea. "Tea! Get me the Millennium Rod."

"Exodia Necross – attack Blue Eyes Baby Dragon!"

"Red Eyes defend the little guy!" said Joey. His black dragon sent out a fireball to intercept it, but Exodia's blast had already hit the baby dragon.

"Aw man! Kaiba's gonna kill me now!"

"Now Necross gets even stronger!" Tea cried, "Maybe we should call back all of our monsters."

"We can't!" said Yami, taking the Rod from her, "If we leave ourselves defenseless, then Gozaburo will only target _us_! We have to figure out its weakness before he becomes too strong!" Millennium Rod in hand, he knelt down beside Seto and placed the Item into his hand. The Rod immediately activated and Set took control.

"About time someone remembered me," he muttered, getting up, "Looks like you're in need of some help."

"You can say that again," Tristan sighed.

"Well, there's still this capsule," said Set, holding up the blue capsule Tanny had given Seto, "This has to be helpful in some way."

"I agree, but we don't know what it is," said Yami, "How can we activate something without knowing what it is we're summoning. For all we know, that capsule could be a trap."

"Necross, destroy Thunder Kid!"

"No!" Tristan cried. Everyone had been so preoccupied with Set's arrival and the mystery capsule that the weaker monsters were left defenseless. _I've got to be extra careful now that I've only got Thunder Dragon left…_

"Set!" said Yami, "You need to get into your soul corridor and find Seto. Without him, there's no hope in defeating Gozaburo!"

Placing the blue capsule back into the belt, Set nodded and disappeared back into the Millennium Rod.

Joey waved a hand in front of the priest's eyes, which didn't flinch at the teen's actions, "Okay, anyone else find this creepy?"

"Quit fooling around Joey," said Tea, wincing as Happy Lover was blown away, "At this rate he'll be more powerful than us in a few rounds!"

"Blue Eyes White Dragon and Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, retreat at once!" said Yami. /This is bad, Yugi…/

**/In only two more rounds, Gozaburo will be more powerful than Blue Eyes White Dragon! We need more time to figure out what that capsule is!/**

/Unfortunately, time is something we don't – ahh! – have./

**/So much for Celtic Guardian. We need to pull back Kuriboh and Dark Magician in case Gozaburo has any more monsters up his sleeve. If we lose all of ours now, we might be in serious trouble later on!/**

/Good thinking Yugi./

Tea rushed over to Hermione as both Harpie's Pet Dragon and Cyber Harpie were both destroyed, "You okay?"

"Fine," Hermione frowned, "But we're running out of monsters."

Gozaburo surveyed the field. _There's Yugi in the Black Luster Soldier Armor, a Red Eyes, Seiryu, and Thunder Dragon. Lucky for me, all of those monsters are far weaker than Exodia Necross. Once I destroy those, those brats will _have _to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragons, and by then, they'll be weak too. But I can't let Seto activate that last capsule! _He reached for his wand, but stopped when he noticed the Millennium Rod activate once more.

Yami and Tea were standing nearest to Seto when he suddenly collapsed again.

"I believe Set has relinquished control to Kaiba," said Yami kneeling beside him. "Kaiba! Can you hear me?"

Seto slowly opened his eyes. Once his vision cleared, the pain in his head escalated as he sat up.

"Are you alright, Kaiba?" said Yami.

"Fine," Seto muttered, getting to his feet. He took one look across the field and sighed, "Great. How many monsters has he destroyed?"

"Enough of them," said Yami, "We need to –"

"Call back the weaker monsters so Gozaburo doesn't become too powerful," Seto said, "Where are my dragons?"

"Blue Eyes Baby Dragon was destroyed," said Tea.

"What about the other two?"

Yami held up two capsules, "I called them back already."

"So you'll stop Gozaburo from destroying the two most powerful monsters on the field, but he has free reign over the weaker ones. Smart, Muto. Real smart."

"Bicker later, guys," said Joey, "We got to take out Mr. Gruesome!"

Gozaburo pointed toward Yami, Seto, and Joey, "Exodia Necross, attack!"

"Attack!?" Tristan cried, "Attack who?"

Instead of targeting any one of the three duelists, the ball of energy that Necross let out crashed into the ground in front of them, sending the three duelists flying backward. With a quick flourish of her wand, Hermione conjured a large and fluffy white cushion for them to land on.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Tea, running over to greet them.

"Fine," said Yami.

"Wait, Kaiba!" said Tea, glancing where the young CEO had fallen a moment before, "You're bleeding!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Seto said, glancing at his right hand, expecting to see little red droplets around the scars. However, his hand was dry.

"No, she's right," said Hermione, yanking him down to the ground. "You've got a head wound, you should be resting. Looks like you got another hit in the spot that stone creature gave you in the first challenge."

"Later," he snapped, getting back up again.

"Listen to her, Kaiba," said Yami, "You shouldn't be fighting – you're weak as it is!"

"I'll take a nap once we get out of here then. Ever since we entered this blasted game I've been nearly barfed on by sand worms, clobbered by stone demons, whammed by a possessed Wheeler, pummeled by a five-headed dragon, tortured, killed, and I'm still around. I don't think a little head wound is going to bother me too much."

"That's the problem! You're weak from the last challenge and the damage Gozaburo has dealt you hasn't helped. You need to lie down!" Hermione crossed her arms and glared up at him.

"What we _need_ to do is finally get rid of that overgrown rock," said Seto, reaching down to grab the blue capsule. However, his capsule belt was empty.

"Looking for this?" Gozaburo held up the last blue capsule, "I took it when Necross sent you flying. You need to take better care of your capsules, Seto."

Hermione aimed her wand at Gozaburo, "_Accio capsule_!"

Gozaburo easily deflected her spell, "It'll take simple charms to defeat me, girl." He sent out an array of spells, which Hermione also repelled. Joey, Tea, and Tristan merely watched with the Big 5 as a three to one wand battle began, monsters forgotten. "Enough of this! Exodia Necross, att – augh!" He waved his arms stupidly around his head as Kuriboh angrily bounced on it. "Get this damn furball off of me!"

Kuriboh, insulted , bounced harder on the old man's head. While flailing his arms about, Gozaburo dropped the blue capsule.

"_Accio capsule_!" said Hermione. Once it landed safely in her hands, she passed it off to Seto. He loaded it into his capsule shooter.

"I activate the magic of Soul Release! Now I can take five monsters that have been previously killed and destroy their capsule shells **(1)**. And the five monsters I so choose are the five pieces of Exodia!"

A woman with long rainbow hair appeared in the middle of the battlefield. Waving her arms, she chanted some sort of spell, and the five Exodia pieces began to appear. With another chant, the five pieces were suddenly consumed in a strange green fire, their shells disappearing for good. With the pieces gone, Exodia Necross changed from a black monster to the normal gold color.

"Now, without its abilities, Necross is just a weak monster that _can_ be destroyed in battle," said Yami, "Dark Magician! Finish him off with Dark Magic Attack!"

As the final opposing monster vanished, so did the arena. Floating in space once more, Shadi appeared before Yami.

"You have won the final challenge. As your reward, you have earned the power to rule the world."

"Thank you, Shadi, but I don't need this power."

"Very well," said the Egyptian, "Those with the ability to rule can do so without the power to control the world."

With that, he vanished. The strange floating space disappeared, and the top level of the pyramid came back into view. Gozaburo glared at the others, "You may have won this small fight, Seto, but the battle is far from over. We'll meet again _very _soon."

"Oh I'm sure of it," Seto muttered under his breath.

A loud crack brought everyone's eyes to the ceiling. The walls were cracking apart and some of the stone pillars were beginning to crumble.

"Run for it!" Tristan cried, dashing for the exit.

The traps they found entering the pyramid seemed to disappear. The stairs didn't crumble when they ran down them, the chasm they had to creep across was still there, but a narrow roped bridge was in place. The spikes that rose out of the floor in the beginning of the passage were already triggered, showing the runners where it was safe to continue. **(2)**

Once outside at a safe distance from the pyramid, it collapsed. "Looks like Shadi's trials are complete," said Yami, "There's no need for the pyramid anymore."

"Well, Seto, it's time we parted. We'll meet again, sooner than you think," said Gozaburo, turning to leave.

"You're leaving – just like that? No threat of anything, just 'we'll meet again'?" Seto raised an eyebrow, "That's not like you."

"Any minute now the aurors will have tracked me to this spot for using the Imperius curse in the Pyramid. While I could just twiddle my thumbs in Azkaban until Voldemort breaks me out again, I have more important things to do." He waved his wand at a rock on the ground, "_Portus_," and gave it to the Big 5. Then he turned on his heel and disapparated.

"I can't believe we let him leave like that," said Tea, "Why didn't we stop him?"

"If we catch him now, he'll go to prison," said Hermione, "But he already broke out of wizard jail before, so he'll end up doing it again."

"Oh."

"We should probably go to a more open area – preferably where the plane crashed," said Seto, "By now, a rescue chopper should have arrived."

"I hope they find us," said Yugi, taking control, "the sky looks like it could pour on us at any moment!" He handed off the Millennium Puzzle to Yami, giving the Pharaoh his own body.

"Which way _was _the crash site?" asked Joey, looking about, "All I see is forest…"

"I think it's this way," said Tristan, pointing down a small path outlined by trees.

"No, it's this way!" said Joey. He pointed down another path in the opposite direction.

"Oh, no you don't Joey! It's _this _way!"

"Shut up Tristan! _My _path is the right one!"

"No, mine is!"

"It's mine!"

"It's mine!"

Tea rolled her eyes.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

Yugi pulled out his wand. _Harry showed me a trick once that your wand can point you in the right direction. He said he used it during the Triwizard Tournament._ "Point me." He placed his wand in the palm of his hand. The wand tip spun around before stopping facing the path straight ahead, between Joey and Tristan.

"This way guys!" Yugi pointed straight ahead, "The plane is this way!"

"You sure, Yug'?"

"Positive, now let's go."

"Hey what time is it anyway?" asked Tristan.

"According to my watch it's…still the day we crashed…" said Tea.

"That's not right, we must've been in that pyramid for days!"

"Time must have stopped or something in there," said Hermione.

/Are you going to let me have my body back?/

**/Later. Last thing I need is for the media to figure out I've got a mystery twin. Once we're back home or in Kaiba Corp you can take the Rod./**

/Are you sure you don't want me to take over for now?/

**/I'm **_**fine.**_**/**

The end of Yugi's path led to the beach.

"You sure this is where we were?" asked Joey, "I can't find the plane anywhere!"

"The plane's probably submerged," said Hermione, "We should probably stay in one spot so the search teams can find us."

"_If _they can find us," said Tristan, "I don't see how they can see anything in this weather!"

"Then we'll alert them to where we are," said Hermione. She pulled out her wand and shot red sparks into the sky.

* * *

"Should we make one more pass or just give up for the night?" asked the copilot of the chopper.

"Mr. Kaiba'll kill us if we didn't try our best. One more low pass – although it's much foggier than before. I hope I don't hit a tree," said the pilot.

"Don't make me more nervous than I already am…"

"Sorry."

"Okay, circling the island again…"

The copilot looked out the side window. "Hey! There are fireworks over there! Look!"

"Fireworks in the middle of a storm? You must be nuts."

"No, I'm not! Look over there!"

The pilot's mouth dropped open, "Damn. Who would be crazy enough to set off fireworks in this place?"

"Maybe it's the crash survivors!"

"How would they get fireworks?"

"Who cares how they did it, but I bet that's them!"

"Well, it's the only lead we've got so let's head down there."

The pilot slowly lowered the aircraft down. When they were low enough to see the ground, he could make out people along the beach. "You were right! It _is _them! Contact Headquarters and let them know we found them!"

* * *

Moody was examining files on the sofa in the office. Tonks was sitting in a chair across from Mokuba, entertaining him by changing her appearance.

"Do the puppy ears again!"

Remus sat next to Moody, "Anything yet?"

"These workers who were killed seem to be ordinary Muggles. I'd have to look through some history behind these people to see if they were faking their names and faces."

"_Mr. Kaiba_," said the secretary through the phone line, _"The search team is on line one._"

"About time!" Mokuba pushed the speaker button, "Any news?"

"_We found them, Mr. Kaiba. We're taking them to the Domino Hospital as a precaution. Some of them have some injuries. It's pouring here now, and Mr. Kaiba asks that you bring a change of clothes to the hospital._"

"When will you be arriving?" asked Roland.

"G_iven the weather, perhaps an hour._"

The pilot hung up. Mokuba grinned, "Well, they found them. Now we just have to wait for the doctors to check everyone over. I'm going to call Mr. Muto and let him know."

Pulling out his cell phone, Mokuba dialed the Game Shop.

"_Game Shop, Solomon Muto speaking!"_

"Hey Mr. Muto!"

"_Mokuba! Any news yet?_"

"The search team is taking everyone to the hospital to make sure there are no serious injuries. The pilot said they'll be arriving at the Domino Hospital in about an hour."

"_Thanks for informing me, Mokuba. I'll make the other necessary phone calls. I suppose I'll see you at the hospital then."_

"Thanks Mr. Muto. Bye."

"As far as I know, these killed workers were innocent Muggles," said Moody, "How did they die?"

"It was thought to be an electrical short circuit, but there wasn't any form of harm found on the bodies," said Mokuba.

"Any other recent changes going on within the building? Staffing changes, new employees, anything?"

Mokuba frowned, "I don't think so. Seto usually reviews employee files before promotion or demotion and I don't hire anyone without his approval. No one's moved up or down here since he left for Hogwarts."

"How about not-so-recent?"

"I don't really remember," said Mokuba, "Seto would know, we can ask him later. When he took the company from Gozaburo I was really young."

"You're still pretty young," said Tonks.

"It's raining harder now," said Roland, "Perhaps we should leave soon."

"How far is the hospital?" asked Remus.

"Not too far, but we're in the heart of the city. Most businesses let out about now, and I don't want to be in pouring traffic all night."

"Then let's go now!" Mokuba jumped down from Seto's chair and opened the closet in the corner.

Tonks took a look inside, "Your brother keeps a nice amount of clothes here."

"Sometimes he works day and night without sleep. I told him to leave some clothes here in case he has a meeting the next day or if he sleeps here overnight." He pulled out a navy suit and slipped it into a garment bag. "Let's go!"

Roland's traffic prediction was correct. A journey that should have taken ten minutes was going on a half hour, and they were still in the city.

"How much farther?" asked Tonks.

"The hospital is out of the inner loop of the city," said Roland from the driver's seat of the limo, "We still have to get off the main city roads and then it won't be far. If it was a rainless night we would probably be there by now. These people forget how to drive in the rain…"

To Mokuba, it was an eternity later when they reached the hospital. Mr. Muto was already in the waiting room, talking to the lady at the front desk.

"Mr. Muto!"

"Oh, hello, Mokuba!" said Gramps, "You're just in time. They arrived about twenty minutes ago, and we can go see them. They're on the fourth floor in the waiting room there."

When they stepped off the elevator, Grandpa was immediately crushed in a bone-breaking hug, "Yugi!"

"Hey Mr. Muto," said Tristan, "Hey Mokuba."

"Hey guys," said the younger Kaiba, "Where's Joey, Hermione, Tea, and Seto?"

"The doctors are still checking them over and making sure we didn't get any serious injuries from the plane crash."

"Are you hurt?" Mokuba's eyes widened.

"Just some...minor bruises." Yugi wasn't sure if he should tell Mokuba about the events that happened in the pyramid.

"Hey squirt," said Joey, coming down the hall.

"Is my brother almost done?"

Yugi and Joey exchanged glances.

Mokuba frowned, "Well?"

"The doctors are working on him now," said Hermione, approaching them.

"Oh."

"Hello, Hermione," said Remus.

"Professor Lupin, Professor Moody, Tonks – what are you doing here?"

"We discovered connections between the Death Eaters and Seto's company," said Remus, "The body found in your house was an ex-Auror who was assigned to protect your parents. Apparently, a Death Eater named Yar Krieger got information and then disposed of him."

"Yar Krieger?" said Mokuba, looking up at Remus, "Krieger's Seto's pilot. He was supposed to fly you guys home!"

"Well, he's dead now," said Yugi, "he died in the crash."

"We're looking to see how many other Death Eaters are hiding here in Domino," Moody growled, "Last thing we need is for You-Know-Who to use one of you to get to Potter. The safer you lot are, the better."

"I would also advise you, Hermione, to not go back to Hogwarts this year."

Hermione stared at Moody, "What?"

"The Death Eater attacks are on the rise," said Moody, "It's only a matter of time before he takes over Hogwarts. It'll be easy for him now that Dumbledore's dead. If he takes over the school, he'll either rid the Muggleborn students from it or use you to get to Potter."

Hermione sighed, "I'll consider it – but I still want a booklist for seventh year students. I want to at least teach myself if I must."

"I can get that to you," said Tonks.

A doctor came down the hall, "Well, I have good news. You all seem fine. The crash didn't seem to leave any harmful effects on you so you can check out and head home."

"Where's Tea?" asked Yugi.

The doctor leafed through his clipboard, "Tea…Tea Gardner? She's being checked out by a nurse."

"What about my brother?"

"Mr. Kaiba is being treated by another doctor." The doctor headed back down the hall to another room.

"He might be a while," said Hermione.

"Why's that?" asked Mokuba, and then his eyes widened. "He's hurt isn't he?"

"He injured his arm during the plane crash," she said, "It's not a pretty cut."

"What happened?"

"A piece of metal from the plane went through his left arm about here, just below his shoulder, and then there are a few other minor things. I'm sure the doctors are fixing him up now."

"And the rest of you didn't get hurt?"

"Not too seriously," said Yugi, going along with Hermione's story, "Some bumps, bruises, little cuts. It was pretty much where your brother was sitting that got him his injury."

Mokuba frowned, "Oh."

Another doctor entered the waiting area, "I assume you're waiting for Mr. Kaiba?"

Yugi nodded, "Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine. Visiting hours are almost up for the night, but you can go see him now. He's at the far room on the right hand side."

"Seto!" Mokuba dashed down the hall, burst into the room and nearly ran over another doctor.

"Easy there, kiddo," said the doctor, "he's resting."

"Oh," Mokuba frowned, "When can he come home?"

"I'd say tomorrow afternoon. Now if you excuse me…"

"Jeez, Mokuba, did you run over the doctor on the way in here?"

"Almost. Seto's asleep. I don't want to wake him."

"We can come back tomorrow," said Yami.

"Yea," said Joey, "Besides, those docs probably have him so drugged up he won't be up till tomorrow anyways."

"Well, ok," Mokuba said sadly, "G'night, Seto." They headed toward the elevator.

"Since you lost most of your stuff in the crash, do you want to spend the night at my house?" Tea asked, "I'm sure tomorrow we can get you shopping for some things at the mall."

"Thanks Tea," Hermione smiled, grabbing the one bag that she salvaged from the wreck.

"I can give you guys a lift if you need one," said Mokuba, opening the main doors to the hospital. The rain had finally stopped and the sky had cleared somewhat.

"I'll need one," said Tea, "My parents are on vacation right now."

"I'll take a ride too," said Tristan.

"No way am I passin' up a ride in Kaiba's limo!" Joey smirked, jumping into the backseat of the car.

* * *

"So Seto and his friends won the first round…I'll be back…"

"_Do you always talk to yourself?"_

Gozaburo glanced up. "Who –"

"_Don't tell me you forgot already. I'm Aknadin, remember? I'm inside the sword that you're so desperately trying to mend. Keep up the pace you're at and it'll take you the same time it took Yugi Muto to complete the Millennium Puzzle."_

"I've made progress!"

"_Oh yes. You have three pieces together rather than two. Excellent job with that."_

"Did you nag Voldemort this much?"

"_That fool? Please, he was unable to hear me. It was a mere coincidence that he was able to wield the power of the Sword."_

"So I guess I'm lucky then. I get to hear your distracting banter while I'm trying to work!"

"_Well sorry. After five thousand years of twiddling my thumbs, it's nice to talk to someone. Now, this battle you recently lost. You're going about this claim of power the wrong way. You're mending my sword for a fool who doesn't know how to use it properly. Your hope of defeating this son of yours by trapping him in an ancient game is creative, but foolish. It is pointless to battle Set's reincarnation with the Pharaoh beside him. You need to separate them and work on this one at a time."_

"I know that," Gozaburo snapped.

"_Do you know that this twit who has the other half of my sword plans to kill you once you finish mending it?"_

"What?" Gozaburo put down the two pieces he was tinkering with and focused on the spirit talking to him.

"_Oh yes. All he wants is his end of the deal. The weapons and his sword. He'll allow you to take control of your son's company, create these weapons, and once he has them, he won't need you anymore – and then he'll keep the sword he promised to give you. If I were you…I'd get those weapons made as soon as possible."_

"I thought giving Voldemort the weapons was certain death."

"_No – if you finish the weapons _and _my sword, it is certain death. While you tinker away at my sword, you might as well get my son's reincarnation out of the way. The sooner you act, the less time Set will have to gather his allies. Once he is out of the way, it will be easy for me to get revenge on the Pharaoh."_

"Then what do we do about Voldemort?"

"_We will deal with him once my sword is fully mended. He is not aware of the full extent of my power, and _that_ will be his undoing."_

* * *

**(1) **The actual card _Soul Release _removes the cards from the game. Since in the Capsule Monsters world destroyed monsters don't seem to come back I decided that when a monster is destroyed, their capsule remains intact, yet there's no monster inside. If someone were to play a _Monster Reborn _or another revival card, the empty capsule shell would regain its monster. When it is "removed from the game" I decided to just destroy the shell. Without the capsule shell, the monster that was once inside wouldn't be able to return...any of that babble make sense?

**(2)** In the series, they never really explained how everyone made it out of the pyramid so quickly. If they had to go out the same way they came in, the pyramid would have probably collapsed on them while they were inching their way across the chasm. Either that or they'd forget about the stairs and die right there. Or they would have run blindly down the corridor and would be skewered by the spikes coming out of the floor.

~*~

I have a new poll on my profile. After taking composition (and hating every minute of it) I'm just curious on what you think of my writing. If you don't mind, please vote on how I'm doing.

Any questions can be sent through PM or a review. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time!


	21. Chapter 21

Hello dear readers! Here's the next chapter!

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

I don't own YGO or HP. By now, you should know who does and it's not me.

* * *

Chapter 21

"Maybe you should take a break from that," said Leichtor, placing a steaming coffee on the desk.

"Are you kidding?" Gozaburo glared back, "I'm _this _close to cracking Seto's near-impenetrable security system. Just a few more minutes and I'll be able to access his entire network!"

"Well you said that last time too and once you were through on your good luck you activated a new firewall. You should take a break and get some sleep. Why don't you just hire some idiot from off the street who knows how to hack?"

"I don't want a triumphant victory over Seto to be won by some nobody with computer skills. I'm going to do this on my own!"

"Suit yourself," said Leichtor, glancing at his watch, "But I'm going to bed. If you ask me, why don't you pay Mr. Kaiba a visit in the hospital and search his brain for the answers?"

"That would be cheating…"

"Cheating my butt! He won't even know you're there. The doctors in that place probably have him under so many drugs you could rip his legs off and he won't feel it till next week. Believe me, I broke my arm once...pain free for a _long _time!"

"No. I'm going to crack this if it's the last thing I do!"

"Whatever. I'm getting some shuteye."

Gozaburo watched him leave then turned his attention back to his laptop. "Let's try this…"

The sequence of keys didn't seem to have any effect on the screen, but something was happening deep in the Kaiba Corp security system. If it were visible to Gozaburo, a red light would be flashing in a program stored in the back of hidden file. While he couldn't see it, someone else did.

"Installing the new firewall updates," said Noa to himself, "That should keep out a new wave of hackers!"

He sat on his bed with his dog in his virtual realm. The backup file Noa had activated before the last virtual world was destroyed was hiding deep within the Kaiba Corp network. Mokuba stumbled across him while snooping Seto's laptop hoping to find clues to his Christmas presents. When he told Seto about Noa, the elder Kaiba set Noa in charge of keeping the system up-to-date with the latest firewalls.

"What's this? Someone's trying to bypass the security system. I wonder who the loser is this time?" Typing away at his own virtual computer, Noa opened up a small webcam. "Wouldn't you know it was Father, Sam? He just doesn't know when to quit, does he?"

Sam wagged his tail.

"I think it's time I had some fun. Sorry, Father, no sneak access today."

"Damn thing _had _to freeze on me," Gozaburo snapped, bolting out of his chair. He paced the room then sat down when the screen changed. He raised an eyebrow when a small text box appeared on the screen.

'_Thank you for attacking the Kaiba Corp Network, Gozaburo Kaiba. Your session today has been logged and will be reported to the proper authorities.'_

"What? ...Why the hell is there a reply box?" He paused for a moment, and then responded, 'Who are you?'

Noa grinned, 'I am an automated message'.

Gozaburo frowned, 'How the hell do you know my name?'

'_Only a fool would attempt to hack the Kaiba Corp Network. Since the creator of this program has entered only one name as 'fool' into the system, you must be Gozaburo Kaiba.'_

'I am no fool!' Gozaburo typed angrily, "Why in the world am I typing messages to an automated system? I must really be losing it this time…"

'_Thank you for attacking the Kaiba Corp Network, Gozaburo Kaiba. Your session will be logged and has been reported to the proper authorities. Please stand back as an electronic pulse will now disable your hard drive.'_

Gozaburo narrowed his eyes, "That message was similar to the first, but not the same. If it were automated, there'd be no difference. Someone is playing a joke on me and I'm going to find out who – ouch!"

Noa _did _send a shock through his computer – it sparked Gozaburo's finger and shut off the machine.

Gozaburo, annoyed, left the room and started down the hallway, "'Plan B' I guess," he muttered. Turning on his heel he disapparated with a loud pop.

* * *

"Here's the guest room," said Tea, "I'll get you some pajamas in a minute. There's a bathroom down the hall. I'm sure you could use a nice hot bath. I know I could. I'm kinda sore from all the action in that pyramid."

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying here?" asked Hermione, "I mean, Mokuba would – "

"Yea I know, Mokuba invited you to his place on the ride back, but there's one thing Kaiba's place doesn't have. You need some clothes!"

"I can't use your things forever though…"

"You worry too much. We'll take you shopping once Kaiba's out of the hospital."

"Oh, do you have paper? I want to write a letter."

"Sure," said Tea. She disappeared into her room and returned with a pen and notebook. "I'm gonna take a shower and then I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning. Holler if you need anything."

"Thanks." When Tea left, Hermione sat down at the table in the guest room and took the pen to the notebook. 'To Harry and Ron…'

* * *

" '_To Harry and Ron – I'm sure by now you're worried sick, but be sure everything's alright. We made it to Domino safe and sound – mostly. The pilot died in the crash and Seto had some…injuries so he stayed in the hospital overnight, but other than that we're all alright. _

_I've only been here for a couple of days and I already miss you all like crazy! I hope we can get together for your birthday, Harry. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley is going to throw a party or something so we'll all have to come back to visit. In the mean time, one of Yugi's friends – Tea, I don't think you've ever met her…probably not – is going taking me shopping with Mokuba. I didn't get to save much from the plane crash and Mokuba said something about a new wardrobe or whatnot. _

_Professors Lupin and Moody are here, as well as Tonks doing some sort of investigation. Apparently they're checking for Death Eaters around here. Before leaving England I would have laughed and said that was the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard, but if Seto's pilot was a Death Eater (someone he thought he could _trust _no less), they could be anywhere!_

_I'm stressing you, Harry. Don't do anything to cause trouble – now more than ever! Dumbledore's gone and who knows how long it will take before You-Know-Who does something to the Ministry. We know Death Eaters are about and we ran into one…or two…on the way home – other than the suicidal pilot. While we were waiting for a rescue, we pretty much 'bumped' into Gozaburo Kaiba. Let's just say he's not a nice guy._

_I would love to say more right now but I don't want to use up all of Tea's paper and quite frankly it's been quite a day. I'm sending this through one of the spirits in the morning because Seto's in the hospital (does he have an owl? I know he has a cat…), and owls flying in daylight are too suspicious out here. I could use a good night's rest. Take care and say hello to everyone for me_

_Love from, Hermione."_

"Wow," said Fred, "Not even a completed journey and they run into trouble."

"Yea," said George, "See Harry? Trouble _doesn't _follow you everywhere."

"Shut it," said Harry.

"So what exactly happened when the plane crashed?"

"We were stranded on an island," said Yami, "We were barely able to send out for help and we found a man who needed help. He said his friend had disappeared in a pyramid that was oddly built there."

Ron opened his mouth but Yami cut him off, "No, it wasn't Egypt. Anyway, it turns out this man called Alex Brisbane led us inside and into this map thing on the floor. Turns out this map were really the entrance into a twisted Shadow Game. To keeps things short, we had to play the deadly game and escape. However, in the middle, Gozaburo showed up to help us escape."

"I thought he was bad," said Ron.

"He is," said Yami, "Turns out he had his owns reasons and we had to fight him in the end to win. Long story short – we won."

"Obviously," said Harry, "How did you get here anyway? I thought the Ministry has barriers set up here."

"Shadow Magic is far older than your common magic," said Yami, "According to Bakura – who grudgingly helped me – our magic bypasses yours. Apparently your barriers work on more modern forms. Ryou somehow got Bakura to tell me how to travel through the Shadow Realm."

"That makes sense," said Ginny.

"How did Bakura crack?" asked George eagerly.

"I'm not sure, but I believe vegetables and friendship speeches may have had something to do with it."

* * *

_Two days later_

"Okay we've got the whole day to kill and an endless money bank," said Mokuba, "Pick a store and go nuts."

"This place is huge," said Hermione. The Domino City Mall was three long floors with boutiques of all types.

"Yea, so we can start on this end and work in one big circle," said Tea, "We can stop and eat on the second floor. There's a little food court there."

"Tea! Mokuba!"

"Mai!" Tea cried, "I didn't know you were here."

"Oh, I'm always here, Tea. One can _never_ have too many clothes."

"Hermione, this is Mai Valentine. Mai, this is Hermione Granger."

"Friends of Tea? I've never seen you around before."

"She's a…eh exchange student from England for the upcoming school year," said Tea, "she needs some clothes."

"I didn't know Domino High had an exchange program in England," said Mai.

"Come here for a sec Mai," said Mokuba. He walked with her a few feet then whispered into her ear.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when Mokuba was finished, "You better get cracking then. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure," said Tea, "We didn't even start yet."

"Me neither," said Mai, "I parked on the other side of the mall. Start on the opposite end and work my way back."

"Sounds like a smart idea."

"So how are you going to pay for everything?"

"Seto gave a written note to charge everything to Kaiba Corp. He said he'll pay for the damage later."

Tea and Hermione walked into the first store.

"I heard on the news that Kaiba got roughed up a bit in the plane landing a few days ago," said Mai.

"How'd you hear that? No one's spoken anything to the presses."

"The anchorman on the morning news was in the hospital yesterday. Something about his toe. Anyway he overheard one of the doctors talking about it. So how is Kaiba?"

"Seto's incredibly cranky. I think it's because the doctors don't want him back at work for a few more days even though he checked out of the hospital. It was mostly his arm. According to the doctor, part of the plane sliced through his left upper arm in the crash. He had some small cuts on his right wrist too. He's home resting…or at least he's supposed to be. Roland and Set are with him."

"Set?"

"Oh…he's a…umm bodyguard; he's eh…Roland's cousin." _That was close…_

"Oh, ok then." _Bodyguard my butt_, thought Mai, _Yami is Yugi's spirit, Yami Bakura is Bakura's spirit, and now a bodyguard with practically the same name? If I didn't know any better, I'd say Kaiba's got a twin living in his head too. _

"Find anything yet?" asked Mokuba.

"She's trying on about half the place," said Tea, "Personally I think the clothing stores are going to be sending Kaiba Corp gifts in the mail for all the money they're about to make."

"Oh they do," said Mai, "Believe me. When I won my first tournament I used the prize money and went on a full shopping spree – that is, after I bought my convertible."

"I didn't know you bought your car after your first win, Mai."

"You do now, hun."

"Alright, all done!"

The cashier's eyes widened at the mound of clothes to be rung up. There was no trouble with the card and the gang soon left for the next boutique.

"How much do you think you'll be getting?" asked Mokuba, "Maybe we should've stopped at that department store and bought a cart or something if we're gonna have a lot of bags."

"Nonsense, kiddo. You learn to condense when you go shopping," said Mai, "Hey wait guys, you missed this store!"

Hermione and Tea, who were walking ahead of the others, turned back. "'Formal Occasions'?" said Hermione, "I really don't need anything this fancy...do I?"

"Well…" Mokuba began, "You might…it depends. There's always Pegasus's big business dinners. His last one was a pretty formal event."

"Yea, but Kaiba hates Pegasus. He would rather jump into a volcano than go to Duelist Kingdom," said Tea. "…he still does hate Pegasus right?"

"Yea, but I hear sometime this year Pegasus is going to announce a new Duel Monsters tournament at this year's dinner. There are also the company dinners that Seto tries to avoid."

"Oh, come on, looking doesn't hurt!" Mai exclaimed, taking Hermione's arm and pulling her into the store. "Now hun, when was the last time you got all dressed up?"

"I'll go wait outside," said Mokuba. Waiting for girls to try on gowns was not his idea of fun.

It seemed like an eternity before they came out of the store, a bag heavier than before.

The driver of the limo opened the door for them hours later, "I thought perhaps you got lost in there," he said.

"Nope. We're just one big group of shopaholics," said Tea. Her arms were tired of holding the many shopping bags and she was glad to drop them on the car seat.

After saying goodbye to Mai, the limo returned to the mansion. As the car pulled up to the front of the house, Roland came out to greet them.

"Did you buy out the whole mall?"

"No," said Mokuba, "Maybe half…just kidding. How's Seto?"

"Not well."

"'Not well' as in irritated beyond all irritation or 'not well' as in sick?"

"Both."

"Aw man!" Mokuba scampered into the house.

Roland grabbed all the shopping bags and staggered his way up the steps into the mansion.

"How was your trip?" asked Set, fiddling with Mokuba's video game. He looked up when the music signaled in the game, meaning Mario had died.

"Where's Seto?" asked Mokuba.

"Upstairs sleeping I believe. It seems he's been very agitated since he came home from the hospital.

"It was interesting. We ran across Mai at the mall," said Tea.

"Come on, Tea. Let's go take all this stuff upstairs." Hermione said grabbing a bunch of bags.

"I don't think my arms can lift another bag, but okay."

* * *

Leichtor knocked on the office door and entered without waiting for a reply. Gozaburo was deep in concentration, with the fragments of the Millennium Sword on the desk.

"Made any progress yet?"

"Got two more in last night."

"What about the password."

"Still working on it."

"Did you even try my suggestion?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I found something better and more secretive."

"Mind sharing?"

Gozaburo looked up from his tinkering, "Then it's not a secret anymore. Did Nesbitt find the lab?"

"Not yet."

"Go pester him some more and leave me."

Gozaburo waited for Leichtor to leave and then turned to his left, "How's it coming?"

"_This stepson of yours guards his secrets well._"

"I still don't understand how you're able to use the powers when it's still broken."

"_I told you, the sword holds more power than any of the Millennium Items combined. It was not forged the same way as the other Items and is controlled by pure darkness. Rather than have the Shadows split between seven items, there is no share with my sword._"

"Did you find _anything_ at all?"

"_Rather impatient, you are._ _It's not easy moving about without being detected. There's two minds in this body remember? At least he's weak._"

Gozaburo put the piece of the blade down, "Are you telling me that nobody knows about you?"

"_Only you know…and you're going to _keep _it that way. You know, I don't think I've ever seen a soul room this tidy…and it's about time you got another piece together. Your servants could probably work faster than you!_"

"Very funny," Gozaburo snapped. A sudden knock on the door almost made Gozaburo drop his wand. "Yes, who is it?"

"It's me," said Umbridge, entering. She scowled at the desk, "Is that all you have done? The Dark Lord is getting impatient."

"This isn't easy you know. It's no jigsaw puzzle."

"You're moving rather slow – and those two over there fit together."

"What the – which ones?"

/Ha! She's only been here for two minutes and is faster than you!!/

**/Shut it./**

"You can tell your Dark Pain-in-the –"

"Hem hem." Umbridge scowled.

"…Dark _Lord_ that I'm moving as fast as I can. Once I get the information I need from Seto, things will move much quicker. It's quite hard to work with all of these distractions."

Umbridge stood to her full height (which wasn't all that impressive, she was still much shorter than Gozaburo) and opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and stormed out of the room.

"_You know she could have helped you finish that._"

"I don't need help."

"_Sure you don't. Oh, what's this?_"

"What did you find?"

"_He's awake._" Aknadin finally phased out of the fragments. Although he wasn't clearly visible since the Millennium Sword wasn't completed, Gozaburo was able to tell where he was in the room.

"What's so bad about that?"

"It's hard to poke around when someone is up and about. While he was resting and weakened it was easier to look for information."

"Do you think he knows you were there?"

"I doubt it."

* * *

"I win again, Joey."

"Again?"

"You didn't see it coming?" asked Tristan, "After what, the fiftieth time?"

"Ah, shut up, Tristan. I'll beat you someday, Yug'."

"YUGI!"

"Oh no! It's Rebecca!" Yugi bolted through the shop and into the house.

"He did that at Christmas too," Yami whispered as Rebecca Hawkins ran into the store. "You again? Where's Yugi?"

"He's not here," said Yami.

"I saw him just before I came in."

"Nope, sorry, Rebecca. You saw Yami. Yugi's out with Tea." Joey said.

"He's with…Tea?"

"Yea," said Tristan.

"Why would he want to hang out with Tea?"

Yami frowned, "Because they're friends?"

"Oh…right. Well make sure you tell Yugi he can't avoid me forever! I missed seeing him at Christmas and now that I'm here for the summer I better run into him at least once!"

"You know Yugi you can't hide from her forever," said Grandpa once she left.

"I know, but she _likes me_ likes me. I just…I don't know. I like her as a duelist!"

"She's a girl, Yug. Don't try to understand them, it never works," said Joey.

"Excuse me, Joey!" said Tea from the doorway to the shop.

"Oh, eh hi Tea," Joey grinned.

"I thought you were out with Hermione," said Yugi.

"We finished early. We saw Mai at the mall too, she helped us shop."

"So how big is the bill?"

"That's none of your business, Tristan!"

"Knock knock!" said Tonks entering the shop.

"Hey Tonks. What's up?" asked Yugi.

"Remus and Mad-Eye are over putting up defensive spells around Karby Corp."

"You mean Kaiba Corp?"

"Yes! So I'm here to the same for you, Yugi. Now that Gozaburo Kaiba's been exposed and after your recent stint with You-Know-Who, we want to eliminate any chance of an attack."

"How many places are you doing?" asked Yugi.

"Well there's your house, Seto's place, we're doing the office building and…um…I think that's all."

"I'd feel better if you don't mind putting protection on my friends," said Yami, "Often my enemies use them to get to me."

"Sure, if you guys don't mind."

"I don't mind," said Tea.

"Fine with me," said Joey and Tristan at the same time. They looked at each other.

"That's not funny." They said simultaneously.

"Argh! Stop it!" Same time again.

"You stop it!" And again.

"No, you stop it!"

"You!"

"You!"

Yugi rolled his eyes.

"You guys are hilarious," Tonks grinned.

* * *

"_I don't believe the knowledge you seek is there._"

"Of course it is," Gozaburo snapped, "Where else would it be?"

"_Somewhere else."_

"Ha ha." Gozaburo paced his study.

"_You're going to make a hole in the floor if you keep that up_."

"How can you be sure he doesn't know?"

"_I'm using what limited power I have. Perhaps if you picked up the pace my sword would be finished and I would be more useful to you."_

"I thought you were the one who told me that getting access to Seto's company was more important than mending that thing?"

"_I did._"

Gozaburo glared at Aknadin's faint form, "You're trying to confuse me on purpose aren't you?"

"_No. But since you're having such _great_ luck at that hacking business, you might as well spend your time with something you know how to do._"

"Why don't you fix your own sword?" Gozaburo growled.

"…_Are you asking a spirit to do a living man's job?"_

"…You win."

"_That's more like it. The sooner you finish that, the easier it will be for me to defeat the Pharaoh."_

"What about Seto?"

"_Yes, well him too. I'm sure my son is with him by now so hurry up!"_

"Oh go back to sleep," snapped Gozaburo. _Finally some peace and quiet._

After two knocks, Gansley walked in.

"What is it?"

"Nesbitt's having no luck. He said his hacking skills are probably the worst around."

"Probably are," said Gozaburo.

/I would say that title belongs to you./

**/Shut up!/**

"Is that the entire sword?" asked Gansley.

"The blade. Voldemort has the handle."

"Where's the tip?"

"What do you mean 'where's the tip'? It's right here…" Gozaburo scanned the desk. He was piecing the middle together. He saw the fragments that met with Gozaburo's half, but the very tip of the sword was missing. "Someone took a piece from this room."

"Yes, but who?"

"Well think about it Gansley. Who walks in here day and night – besides me?"

"Just us," said Gansley, "the Malfoy boy, and Voldemort's followers."

"Hmm. Umbridge was here last. Contact her immediately."

* * *

"Well well, look who finally is out of bed," said Set. He clammed up when he was put on the receiving end of Death's Glare. Roland sprang up and started up the coffeepot as Seto trudged into the kitchen in pajamas, robe and slippers. His left arm was in a sling under his bathrobe. "Have a nice nap?"

"You call a day and a half a nap?" Seto raised an eyebrow.

"When you've been stuck in a Millennium Item for five thousand years…any case, Seto you look awfully tired."

"I've got a headache. Also tired of laying still for thirty-six hours."

"Is the medication giving you side affects?"

"Probably," he muttered. "It started up a couple of hours ago – then when I woke up earlier it suddenly disappeared, and now it started back up again."

"That's weird," said Set, "This didn't happen yesterday did it?"

Seto shook his head as Roland placed a coffee mug in front of him, "No, just today. Roland get my laptop."

"You should go back to bed, Seto. After what's happened these past few days you need to regain your strength!"

"Look who's talking. If I recall, when I so graciously accepted the Millennium Rod – must've been crazy at the time – the last thing you wanted to do once you were sprung loose was go back in. Well guess what? I'm tired of 'napping'. Besides," he finished with a yawn, "I'm not tired."

"Says the one who just yawned."

Seto shot him another glare, "Believe it or not, you get tired of sleeping."

"Sir, your passwords have been changed again," said Roland, placing the computer on the table.

"Again?"

"Yes."

"Hey, Seto," said Noa, popping up on the screen. He frowned when he saw the cast, "Oh, you don't look so good. I guess the flight back was a little bumpy huh?"

"You could say that."

"So what happened?"

"Pretty much died."

"Don't kid like that Seto."

Seto narrowed his eyes at the screen, "Who's joking?"

"…no way, Seto…well…alright so you're bruised up a bit. How's recovery?"

Seto took a sip of coffee, "Slow."

"Hmm…well you should know that I upgraded the security patches in the KC network and blocked a few hackers – one of them Dear Old Dad."

"Gozaburo tried breaking through your firewalls? Ha!"

Noa grinned, "It was a pretty sloppy job. I was able to trace it back through to his computer. He's at the old Kaiba Manor."

"Lovely," Seto muttered. Suddenly, his head began to ache unbearably. "I'll talk to you later, Noa," he said, closing the lid. He crossed the room and pulled out his pain medication, popped in two pills, then headed back upstairs to bed.

Meanwhile, within Seto's own soul, Gozaburo was able to hear everything that had just occurred.

**/You can take me back out now, before Seto realizes that we're causing his headaches./**

/Are you sure?/ said Aknadin, /If he goes back to sleep it will be easier for you to look around./

**/I have all of the information I need./**

/Very well./

Before Gozaburo knew it, he was back in his room.

"How did it go?" asked Johnson.

"Better than I thought," said Gozaburo, "It appears…that Noa survived the virtual world explosion. He's in some back-up file. Apparently he and Seto are on good terms and the little brat's in charge of the network security."

"If Noa is monitoring online, that means you'll never be able to break through it. That kid's a genius."

"Perhaps not that way," said Gozaburo, "But there's always the direct approach to getting into Kaiba Corp…"

* * *

"I'm worried, Yugi."

"What's wrong, Pharaoh?" asked Yugi, climbing into bed.

"I sense a great power is coming. It's weak now, but it's growing stronger. I can feel it."

"What kind of power?"

"Darkness, Yugi. The last time I sensed something like this it was back at Hogwarts when I was dueling Voldemort in the chamber under the school."

"When he has the Millennium Sword?"

"Yes."

"You think Voldemort is coming here?"

"No, I think the Millennium Sword is gaining its power again. When I won that duel Voldemort disappeared and left the Sword behind. When I touched it, it shattered."

"I know that much, Yami."

"We're in danger, Yugi. The only way I can see the Millennium Sword gaining power is if someone was putting it back together."

"Well we're always in danger when it comes to the Millennium Items, Yami. You of all people should know that!"

"Yes, but whoever's trying to fix it can't." Yami crossed the room and opened the small box that Yugi kept the God Cards in.

"What're you looking for, Pharaoh? I just keep the God Cards there."

"Whoever's mending the Millennium Sword will come looking for this," Yami held up a fragment of a sword.

"We had the tip the entire time?"

"Yes, Yugi. I didn't want the evil to fall into the wrong hands again so I took it, as well as part of the center."

"Where's that?"

"I gave it to Shadi."

"Yami this isn't good. This is going to turn into Duelist Kingdom all over again…minus the tournament and Pegasus. We have to get rid of it!"

"We can't, Yugi! I'm using the Puzzle to hide its location from everyone else – even Bakura won't be able to find it. If this piece falls into place with the others and Voldemort is as powerful as before…"

Yugi sighed, "You're right, Pharaoh. We need to protect that. I just hope our friends don't get hurt again."

"I hope so too, Yugi, but if you look at our past record – it's bound to happen."

"You think we should tell someone about it? At least the Aurors?"

"It wouldn't hurt. After all, only Dark Wizards would come after it at this point."

"Let's go then, Yami."

"Now? Yugi, it's the middle of the night!"

"This can't wait, Yami. For all we know, Voldemort or Gozaburo Kaiba is hunting this down as we speak!"

"For all we know, Yugi, Voldemort or Gozaburo Kaiba is expecting that sort of behavior from us, whether they know we have the piece or not. Our best bet is to wait until morning."

"That's just it, Yami! I bet that's what they want us to think! I bet they want us to think that we think that they think that…that…I'm confused."

"Me too. Yugi you're tired and you're not making any sense. Now go to bed."

"But…"

"First thing in the morning – I promise we'll find the Aurors."

"Okay." It wasn't until another hour passed when Yugi finally fell asleep. Before Yami disappeared into the Puzzle for the night, he glanced up through the skylight. The previous rainclouds had long gone and the stars were brightly shining in the moonlit sky. _There's a storm coming_, Yami thought to himself as he vanished into his Item, _I can sense it, and it's coming sooner than we would imagine it. I just hope we're prepared for its arrival._

* * *

Another chapter down! I can't really say the purple button does my filing anymore…since reviewing is now a rather large greenish button, but in any case – the greenish centered button is sorting comments while I work on my character analysis of King Arthur for my literature class. As I go on spring break Friday, I'm going to _**try**_ to get another chapter of CatC done, but I can make no promises. I hope you enjoyed the latest installment.

**Important**! I have a new poll on my profile that I'd like you all to participate in (of course, you don't have to if you don't want to!). The way this story is going along, I might end up turning this fanfic into two stories. I can't decide if I want this to be one huge fanfic or not. Should the stories be split, Return of the Millennium Sword would be wrapped up by Chapter 31.

On another note, if you found any "LD"s hiding within the chapter anywhere, ignore them. I throw those in so I know where to add a break. I believe I found them all, but I am uploading this at 12:15 am.

Until next time!

Setoglomper

.


	22. Chapter 22

Hello, dear readers! Here's the next installment!

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. By now, you should know who does and it's not me. I also don't own Harry Potter. By now you should know who does and it's also not me.

* * *

Chapter 22

_His left arm was slightly stinging. His right hand was bleeding – again. Another line of questioning and he had survived without much injury. It was only a matter of time before Vaasth threatened him with Hermione's life to get him to talk. To pass the time he struggled against the chains, stupidly admitting more pain through his arms which were already tired of holding him upright. He barely noticed the lock on the door click._

_Lady Vaasth, with Roan close behind, entered the dungeon chamber. "Oh goody! You're awake and alert;" she said cheerfully, "Things should go much smoother now."_

_He raised an eyebrow._

"_I have some questions for you, Seto. Simple little questions. You see, another set of newcomers has arrived and are probably in the city now."_

"_So?" he said. _

"_Yes. Did you send for assistance in some way?"_

"_No."_

"_Are you certain?"_

"_If I did, do you honestly think I would tell you?"_

"_No, but I have methods of…where's the golden rod?" _

"_Maybe you should go find it."_

"_You can just tell me where it is." She smiled sweetly at him._

"_What makes you think I know where it is?" _

"_You're a terrible liar, Seto. Liars are punished." Vaasth stepped closer and started unraveling the bandage on his left arm, still smiling._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Getting answers. Roan, if you please…" Vaasth stepped back, throwing the wrappings on the floor. Seto watched Roan as he loaded a silver dart into his weapon._

"_Going to shoot me? Knocking me unconscious again won't give you answers."_

"_This one won't knock you unconscious, Seto. On the contrary, I designed it myself."_

_Roan aimed and fired. The dart's pointy edges shot out and clamped onto his arm. However, the initial pain of the attack came from his right hand rather than left arm. Startled, he glanced to his right. His quill wound was bleeding furiously. He then turned to his other side. The dart had stuck itself directly on the old gash, creating a fresh new wound and opening up the old one._

"_The point of that was…?" He turned to look angrily at Vaasth, trying to wipe the pained look from his face._

"_If you don't assist me," she began, holding up a small device, "that gadget stuck to your arm will remotely fire. Adding that to your injury, it'll be quite a painful experience. Unlike the others, that one will not stop, and I can activate it and deactivate at any time for as long as I please. Now, let's try this again. Where is the rod?"_

_He narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing._

"_Very well then." Vaasth clicked her device. _

_He felt what seemed like electricity surge up his right arm from his hand and to the rest of his body. He closed his eyes, and clenched his fists, trying not to cry out. When the surge suddenly stopped, he reopened his eyes, breathing heavily._

"_Again?" she asked. Vaasth gave him a cruel, twisted smile, "Let's try something else. Where are your friends?"_

"_Even if I knew, you'd be the last person I'd tell."_

_Vaasth held up her small remote, "Reconsider?"_

"_I'm not going to crack."_

_Vaasth gave him an even bigger twisted smile, "Oh, but you will. When the pain becomes too much to bear, you'll do anything to make it stop. Even betray those closest to you. It would make things so much easier if you cooperated now to save yourself from unnecessary pain. So please, where are that rod and your friends?"_

_He narrowed his eyes even more, "You'd have better luck asking a rock." _**(1)**

_Vaasth's smile began to fade, "I'm trying to be nice, Seto, and I really don't want to hurt you."_

_He raised an eyebrow, "Yet you attack me with my back turned, lock me in a dungeon and proceed to torture me? Nice try." He nodded toward his bleeding arm, "Somehow, I don't think that falls under the category of 'being nice'."_

"_All things considered, I think you've had it pretty well for a prisoner," said Vaasth, taking a step back, "I've treated your wounds –"_

"_And made some more."_

_Vaasth glared at him, "I've treated your accidental wounds, gave you a gracious room instead of a dungeon and let you about the castle and even outside, where it would have been easy for you to escape!"_

"_Oh yes," He rolled his eyes, "The gold-star treatment. Arriving here under a peaceful negotiation to be attacked without warning again and again. To come back to my 'gracious room' to find a trigger-torture-happy psychopath there to attack me – again, so now I can dangle here and most likely bleed to death while you feebly attempt to interrogate. Yes, this is five-star treatment at its best."_

_Vaasth seemed to ignore his entire outburst. She continued to flash her sinister smile, "Perhaps if you won't provide me with something useful…then maybe your love will. I'm sure as her life slowly flies away that she will not be as resistant to talk."_

_He glanced over at the bracelet Vaasth wore, "At a number that low, you probably won't be able to wake her. Nice try."_

_Vaasth held up a small control, "A little spark might loosen her tongue. I can see that even a big one won't even hurt yours."_

_He felt his blood begin to boil, "Don't even think about it."_

_Vaasth sighed, "Aww, I believe I struck I struck a nerve or two… or ten. Something the matter?"_

"_You can painlessly suck the life out of her like a leech – but don't even think about hurting her."_

"_Oh, I suppose you won't stand for it? I believe you're forgetting something, my dear Seto," she said smiling. Suddenly the dart activated itself again – but like before, the pain originated from his right hand. Strange as it was, the pain was unbearable. He looked at the dart itself, watching it vibrate its venom-like pain through his body…_

Seto's eyes shot open as he jolted himself out of the dream, breathing heavily. His headache seemed to become worse at his sudden movement and his right hand was in uncontrollable pain.

"Seto?"

He turned to see Hermione sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Are you all right? You were talking and thrashing about for a bit. Roland heard your alarm clock fall off the table."

"It was a bad dream." Seto grimaced as he said it. He didn't dream – or sleep for that matter – often, but he never 'thrashed around'…not since he was younger when he thought Gozaburo would return after having Kaiba Corp pulled out from under his fat grey mustache.

He glanced at the clock on the floor. The numbers glared up at him. It was well after three.

"How long was I asleep?"

"For a while, considering that's pretty much what you did when you came back from the hospital. I heard you get up and move around a little last night, but that was it. Mokuba's worried about you."

Seto frowned, "He's not asleep?"

She grinned at him, "No, silly. Your drapes are so dark that you can't tell what time of day it is when they're closed. It's past three in the afternoon."

"So where is he now?"

"Mokuba's at Yugi's playing the new capsule game. Do you want to talk about it?"

Seto pulled himself up and leaned against his pillows, "It was just a dream."

Hermione nodded, "Just a dream," she repeated, "So you have painful dreams all the time then?"

Seto sighed, "I was in Vaasth's castle…_that_ room."

Hermione mouthed an 'oh'. "So you felt…" she nodded toward his bandaged arm.

Seto shook his head, "No, that was the weird part. Everything that I saw had actually occurred – but the pain came from my hand."

"Which was bleeding."

"…What?" Seto followed her gaze downward where his right hand was soaking in a bowl of murtlap essence. "How long was that there?"

"Since before you woke up."

Seto blinked. How did he not notice? "Oh."

"Remus and Tonks went off to get the book lists for seventh year spells." Hermione decided to change the subject. She could tell he didn't really want to share the details of his dream.

"You're actually planning on going back to Hogwarts?" Seto asked, submitting to his head's pain and laying back down.

"They don't want me to, but I won't just sit here while he gets stronger, so Tonks promised to get me the seventh year books so I can at least practice on my own."

"SETO!" Mokuba screamed.

Seto winced at the noise. Hermione bit her lip and smiled, "Sounds like Mokuba's back. I'll let him know you're awake." Grabbing the murtlap bowl, she left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Hermione descended the steps and entered the kitchen to find Joey rummaging through the kitchen!

"Joey!" she hissed, what are you doing here!"

"Mokuba let us in," he said, turning around. He was munching on a sandwich.

"So if I've got this straight," she said slowly, placing the bowl in the sink, "You're invited over here and immediately run for food? Is there _ever _a time when you're not hungry?"

Joey thought for a moment, "Nope."

Yugi walked in at that point, talking to Mokuba, "Oh, hi Hermione."

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming over," she said, cleaning the bowl.

"They – mostly Yugi – wanted to see how Seto was doing. Joey, Tristan, and Tea tagged along for the ride."

"And for the fridge," Yugi laughed.

Yami poked his head through the door, "Has anyone seen Set?"

"I haven't," said Hermione.

"He's in Seto's office still playing with my Game Boy," said Mokuba, "I saw him there when we got back. He's refusing to come out until he beats the fifth world of Mario III."

"Oh. I need to speak with him," said Yami, "It's important."

"Seto's office is the double doors down that way," said Mokuba, pointing to his right, "Just don't be too loud, Seto's room is right above it. Is he awake yet?"

"Yes, he is," said Seto, yawning. He trudged over and turned on the coffeemaker with his elbow has he rewrapped his hand.

"Hey, Seto!" Mokuba squeaked, "How're you feeling? I haven't seen you since you came home from the hospital!" He handed a mug to his big brother, "I brought Yugi and his friends over – they were worried about you."

Seto nodded absentmindedly. He hadn't registered quite everything his brother had said, "I'm tired. I was tired when I came home. I slept for practically three days and still am dead tired."

"Is it the stuff the doctor gave you?" asked Mokuba, looking at the pill bottle, "I didn't think pain medication can make you tired."

Seto paused for a moment, attentively stared at the mug in his hands. The true cause of his drowsiness was from the injuries he had suffered in the pyramid. The later challenges had taken a rather heavy toll on his body and his experience with death didn't exactly help the situation either. He didn't want Mokuba to know of his near-death experience and he was determined to keep it that way. The less Mokuba had to worry about the better. "The headache doesn't help."

"Are you feeling better at least since you know – the plane window almost skewering you?" asked Tea.

Seto suddenly glanced up. "When did you all get here…?"

"I said they were here, Seto. Don't you remember?"

Seto looked at his brother, "No."

A cry of frustration turned everyone's heads toward the door. "Sounds like Set lost the game," said Mokuba, "That means I can finally have it back. Who knew a five thousand year old priest would be so into video games?"

"He gets that from you," said Seto, wincing. He flexed his right hand; the scars were beginning to annoy him again as the murtlap began to wear off.

"I lost _again_," Set wailed. He flopped down at the table. "Now I've got to start all over – oh. Hello everyone – I see you're finally awake."

Seto sipped his coffee, glaring daggers at his other half.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Tea hissed.

With his mouth full of food, Joey shook his head. "C'mon, Tea. I'm hungry!

"Anyone wanna see my new video game?" Mokuba asked, hoping to relieve the tension in the room.

Joey made an enormous swallow, "I will! I bet I can beat the pants of you, Mokuba!"

"You can try, Joey, but it won't work!" snickered the younger Kaiba.

"We'll just see about that," said Joey, following him out of the room.

"You guys go on ahead," said Yugi, "We need to talk to Set about something important."

Set frowned, "What's wrong?"

Yami sat down across from him at the table, "Have you been noticing anything strange lately? Any weird feelings that something big – and terrible – is about to happen?"

Set shook his head, "I've been feeling some minor head pains, but I can only guess it's the connection I share with Seto and that I'm feeling part of his pain. What's going on, Pharaoh?"

Yami glanced at Seto, who was leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee, to Hermione, Yugi and then back to Set, "I think someone has found the Millennium Sword."

There was a mixture of reactions at the news. Seto nearly choked on his coffee, Hermione's face turned chalk white, and Set nearly fell out of his seat.

"T-t-that's impossible," Hermione choked out, "you destroyed it to save us last term. You said it was gone!"

Yugi frowned, "Well, it was destroyed, but only in pieces."

"Are you sure?" Seto asked, "_Absolutely_ positive that someone found it?"

"I've been almost able to feel the approaching darkness," said Yami, "the last time it was this clear I was dueling Voldemort in the Chamber of Secrets and this power was radiating off of the sword. I think someone managed to find the pieces of the Sword and is trying to put it back together."

"Set," Hermione began, "When we were researching ancient kings in Professor Shadi's class **(2)** we came across Kumigrash who, in legend, transferred a part of himself into the Millennium Sword. Do you know anything about that?"

Set paused, "I thought we ran to Shadi for the answers for that one."

"We don't care about what _Shadi_ said," Seto snapped, "What do _you_ remember?"

"Don't be so snippy, Seto. Shadi said that Aknadin placed part of himself into the sword. I know that the only swords he ever touched were the training weapons he would fight me with. He hated the idea of using real weapons for practice – especially when I was young. He would train me in swordsmanship while I was preparing to become a priest. As long as I've known him, he's never touched a weapon – except the sword I ran him through with. His father was the same way – but if he forged a Millennium Item, then the stories aren't true."

"Are you sure he didn't have a Millennium Item? Aknadin, I mean?" asked Yugi.

"I never saw it," said Set, "I'm almost certain if he had it, it would have been used."

"If the sword was destroyed in the Chamber of Secrets, that limits whoever can have it now," said Hermione, "Harry told me that only parseltongues could open the Chamber of Secrets. I can almost guarantee Harry didn't go down there and get it, and since the rest of the students don't know where the Chamber even is, it would either have to be a teacher – "

"– Or Voldemort," said Yami, "I think he went back for his sword and is trying to repair it."

"If he is able to mend that sword, there will be even more danger in the world. Without it, he was dangerous enough!"

Yami shifted his weight to his other foot, "Well, when Voldemort lost his duel and relinquished his control of the Millennium Sword, it appeared to have some sort of effect on him. As if I had given him a mind crush, he screamed in pain and his body seemed to shatter apart. Once I took hold of the Sword, it also shattered."

"You just said that. Now someone's trying to put it together again. What's your point, Yami?"

"Well, instead of just leaving, I…well…took part of the Sword with me," said Yami. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the very tip of the weapon. "I wanted to tell the Aurors about it and see what other sorts of protective magic they could do, but they aren't here."

"Tonks and Professor Lupin went to Diagon Alley to get some seventh year supplies. Professor Moody is at Kaiba Corp with Roland going through some files," said Hermione.

"Once Voldemort realizes that part of the Millennium Sword is missing, it won't be long before he realizes that we have it. It'll only be a matter of time before he sends someone to retrieve it for him."

"Then make it so he can't get it," said Seto, "Destroy that piece. If that sword isn't complete than it's worthless."

"It's not as easy as it sounds, Seto," said Set, "Millennium Items can't be broken just like that. They're protected by the very magic that brought them together, and for an item like the Millennium Sword, which was forged differently than the other seven, it could be even harder to destroy. If we knew everything possible about it, things might be a little easier."

After a moment's silence, Joey poked his head in the doorway, "You guys comin' or what?"

* * *

"You think _I _took it?" Umbridge shrieked, "How do you know you didn't just misplace it?"

"I never moved those pieces off of that desk. You were the only other one there fiddling with them," Gozaburo snapped, "Now where is the tip of the sword?"

"I don't have it! Why don't you ask him where the rest of his sword is?"

"Voldemort gave me all of the pieces he had – other than the handle," said Gozaburo, "But if I don't have it…and he doesn't have it…and if you don't have it…then who the hell _does_?"

Umbridge stiffened, "I don't know. Perhaps you should do something productive with the Malfoy boy and have him track it down. Has he been doing _anything_ productive?"

Gozaburo grimaced, "The kid's a wimp. Under that blond skull of his is no killer, I can tell you that. If you ask me, Voldemort _wants _him to fail at this."

"What do you mean he's not a killer? He had the Granger girl what – three times now?"

"Yes, and why do you think it was three times?"

"Three interruptions," said Umbridge, "Give him perfect circumstances and he'll be a fine addition to the Dark Lord's ranks."

"I tried getting him to kill a mouse. A mouse, Dolores. A frickin' mouse and he couldn't do _that_. He got halfway through the spell and stopped."

"He needs to be motivated. Perhaps if you gave him something worthwhile to do instead of fiddling with this mess…"

"Mending the Dark Lord's weapon is _not _fiddling around, Umbridge," Gozaburo snapped, "He's depending on me to repair this for him."

"Those two over there fit together."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

Gozaburo frowned at her, "How do you find these things so quickly?"

"A gift I suppose," she shrugged and pulled a chair closer, "Puzzles aren't supposed to be easy."

"No, really? I never knew."  
Umbridge ignored him and focused her gaze on the various pieces on the desk, "I'm still curious to how he ever found out about this sword. Those tablets showed no indication of a sword."

"He used a laptop. I don't know _why_ Voldemort would sink to the point of using Muggle machinery, but he did and that's where he found it. Someone with probably a decent enough background on Egyptian legends posted a website about the Millennium Items and the Sword, which he found."

"You use Muggle machinery," said Umbridge, pointing to Gozaburo's laptop.

"Yes, but there's a clear difference between myself and Voldemort. He…usually…treats anything with a Muggle name on it like the plague. I, on the other hand, live among Muggles. I earned my wealth through dealing with them, and it was through my knowledge of Muggle technology that Voldemort was so successful in the first war. I've assured him that I'll get the old Kaiba Corp labs busting out new magic-proof weapons for his use."

There was a moment's pause while Umbridge absorbed this new information. Something didn't seem to click, "Aren't you forgetting one major detail?"

Gozaburo frowned, "I don't think so."

"Your empire fell years ago. In order to produce those weapons you're going to have to work behind the scenes."

Gozaburo smirked, "Not necessarily. I'm sure that Seto will willingly hand Kaiba Corp over to me once I'm through with him. All I need to do first is to finish this damn sword!"

"And when do you think you'll be able to do all of this?"

Gozaburo pulled a calendar from his desk. "Let's see…we're heading into July now…I need to track down the remaining sword fragments so we'll tack on a week or so…some necessary planning…I'll have Kaiba Corp September 23rd."

"Exactly?"

"By that day, I'll have my company back, I can guarantee it."

"I doubt it," Umbridge smirked, looking for a matching fragment, "It's taking you this long to throw this together! By the time you finish this it'll be November!"

Gozaburo shot up, "_Fine_! If you think you can do this at a much quicker pace, I'd like to see you try! Here!" He gestured his seat and stared out the window. From here he could make out his old office towering above the other buildings in the city. He scowled; Seto probably destroyed all the weapons labs once he took power. Rebuilding his lost empire would be slow, but in the long run it would pay off. Once he had access to the labs everything would fall into place.

"Any luck yet?"

"All of these fragments look the same!"

"I told you it wasn't easy!"

* * *

_At least a week later_

"I want department details of exactly what's been going on here since I was away on my desk by the end of the day."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," said Roland, scribbling down orders on a yellow pad. He followed his employer into the elevator.

"Have my receptionist start scheduling the meetings I missed since I got back."

"Yes, sir."

"I want an update on the new Duel Disk prototype by noon."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." There was a pause before Roland looked up from his notes, "Anything else, Mr. Kaiba?"

The elevator doors whooshed open on the top floor, "No. That's all. Get on that immediately."

He passed his secretary, who jumped up when she saw him. "Mr. Kaiba, one of your cancelled appointments came by just before to reschedule, but he's waiting in your office now."

"That was quick," Seto muttered, "Very well. Start rescheduling the other ones I missed starting at eleven."

"Yes sir."

_Who the heck would come this early for a meeting when I wasn't even there yet?_ Seto thought as he turned the knob of the office door. _It had better not be – _

"Hello, Kaiba-boy!"

…_Pegasus._

* * *

Have a happy Easter/Passover everyone!

**(1)** That whole sequence was from Chapter 17, edited slightly to fit the rest of the chapter. What followed it was what you didn't see as the scene changed to focus on Yugi and Gozaburo. The 'deleted scene' isn't just a made-up part of the dream sequence; it was supposed to have happened while the spotlight was no longer on Seto.

**(2) **This refers back to Tom Riddle's Item. Mention of Kumigrash (as a reminder is a made up character) is in Chapter 8.


	23. Chapter 23

Hello dear readers! I hope you're ready for a long journey, because this is one _big_ chapter!

**IMPORTANT! **Well …not really, but it got your attention, didn't it? While I was reading through parts of Tom Riddle's Item I noticed some inconsistency where places are concerned. In Tom Riddle's Item, Voldemort and Yugi fought where the Mirror of Erised was kept (under the trapdoor on the third floor), but in the last chapter, I believe I used the Chamber of Secrets. Heh…whoops! It was originally going to be the Chamber of Secrets in TRI, but I didn't want to get Harry too close to Voldemort, so I scratched that plan. In correcting the errors of last chapter, only a few people would have been able to retrieve the Millennium Sword. As practically none of the students knew that passage existed it would leave the trio and several professors. Because I'm considerable lazy I'm not going to go back right now and mend all of the errors on that, so if the Sword is mentioned being in the Chamber of Secrets, it's supposed to be the third floor chamber thing. I also used Yami's real name…and while I continue to read through I think there's a part where someone actually says it out loud with Yami in hearing distance – but technically, no one's supposed to know what it is…whoops again!

**/Blah/** is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, not only would I be very rich, but I wouldn't have the need to write fanfiction. I also wouldn't be able to have met some pretty awesome fanfic writers out there. I also don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would be richer than obscenely rich and still wouldn't need to write fanfiction.

* * *

Chapter 23

"What do you want, Pegasus?" Seto sighed. Not even five steps into his office and he was already dealing with the most annoying man on the planet. He nudged the door closed and sank down into his chair, dropping his briefcase – with the Millennium Rod stowed away inside – unceremoniously onto the floor.

/Hey! Be a little more gentle with that!/

**/Spare me…/**

"My, Kaiba-boy, you don't look so good. What happened to you?"

Seto glanced down at his arm, resting innocently in its sling. He raised an eyebrow at Pegasus, "Have you been living under a rock for the past two weeks?"

"Oh come now, Kaiba. I live in Duelist Kingdom! If that's not the most secluded island around, I don't know what is! Now let me guess…you fell down the steps of your luxurious mansion?"

"What do you take me for, an uncoordinated idiot?" Seto pulled his laptop out of his briefcase and set it up in front of him.

"Hmm…I guess not. You got into a pub fight in England? Someone kidnapped Mokuba and in his defense you were injured in a daring rescue?"

Seto glared at Pegasus, "_No_." He paged his secretary for coffee.

"Oh! Now I remember! Croquet told me the other day. He read in the paper your plane crashed. How unfortunate!"

"What do you need Pegasus? I got over the headache of the century last night and I don't want another one this early in the morning."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Kaiba, but I'm not here for anything business related – if I was, I would have waited for your nice young receptionist to call me for a reschedule."

Seto frowned. He could feel a headache coming back. "Then get on with it. I don't have all day."

"Have you asked one of your employees to send me these?" Pegasus reached into an inner pocket of his suit and pulled out a wad of letters and handed them to Seto. All of the envelopes bore the Kaiba Corporation logo.

"What are they?"

"Open them and read for yourself, Kaiba."

Seto scanned the contents of the top letter, " 'Kaiba Corp is changing direction, cut your ties immediately'."

"At first I thought it was some sort of joke, I know you despise me _so _much…but then I remembered – you don't joke. At all."

Seto looked through the next letter. It contained similar threats. "I don't know who's done this, but I can assure you, I didn't have any part in it."

Pegasus raised his eyebrow, "You're positive, right Kaiba?"

Seto sighed, "Pegasus, I've been in England for almost a year. The only time I've been in this building during that time was for maybe part of a day near Christmas. I returned to Domino two weeks ago and have been home for most of that time. As far as I'm concerned, in knowing what's been going on around here, _I've_ been living under a rock."

"Well, excuse me, Kaiba-boy!" He waited for the receptionist to leave after delivering Seto's first round of caffeine before leaning in toward the desk, "I've been sensing something else, Kaiba. It doesn't take a magic eye to know that something very wrong is happening."

Seto narrowed his eyes. He knew that Pegasus no longer had the Millennium Eye, but just how much did he know?

Set, listening from his soul room, raised an eyebrow. _What magic eye? How much does this man know? …Let me out, Seto!_

The Millennium Rod began to glow within the briefcase, causing rays of golden light to escape through the sides. Seto took a sip from his coffee, noticing and ignoring the Rod. "I'm not a mind reader, Pegasus. Whatever you've got to say, say it and get it over it."

At this point, the Rod was rocking back and forth, trying to get Seto's attention. The briefcase jostled back and forth against the desk before finally falling onto its side. Pegasus blinked, scooting his chair over and peering around the side of the desk. "Erm…Kaiba? I think there's something in there that wants to come out." He glanced over at Seto, who was glaring down at the case, his eyes strangely unfocused. "Kaiba?"

**/May I ask what you're doing?/**

/Let me out, Seto!/

**/No./**

/He knows something about the Millennium Items!/

"Yoo-hoo!"

**/Your point?/**

/I want to hear what he has to say!/

**/With Pegasus around? Forget it. The last thing I need is Pegasus gawking at me – even more than he probably is right now. Besides, you can listen from here, can't you?/**

"Seto Kaiba, are you even listening to me!?"

/Well, yes, but I want to be able to talk to him…is that such a bad thing?/

**/The less people who know that I've got you in my head, the better./**

/Oh well. I suppose if you don't let me out, I could always take control./

**/**_**You wouldn't dare!/**_

/Care to take the risk?/

"KAIBA!!"

Seto seemed to break out of his trance, reaching down and releasing the Rod from its metal prison. He placed it on the desk in front of him where Pegasus merely gawked at it.

"Kaiba…is that a Millennium Item?"

"No, I always carry a golden stick with me wherever I go."

"Kaiba, I thought you didn't believe in the whole area of magic?"

"Things change – I also didn't believe there was someone as stubborn as me around, but I found that too."

"Oh? And who can possibly be as stubborn as you?"

Seto held the Rod out over empty space, and with a golden flash, Set was standing beside his reincarnate. Seto pointed to his ancient half, "Him."

"Pegasus nearly toppled out of his seat, "My goodness Kaiba, what has England done to you? You've got a twin!"

Set stiffened, "A bit old to be his twin…" He turned to Pegasus, "You used to bear the Millennium Eye?"

"Yes," said Pegasus, "I've had it for some time…but it was stolen by Bakura."

"Figures," Set muttered, "But how did you get it?"

"I traveled to Egypt where I came across Shadi and an ancient tablet on the floor. It had carvings of the Millennium Items on it. It was then when Shadi came forward to me and decided to test me with the Millennium Eye..."

"Enough…" Seto muttered, looking down at his hand; it was beginning to twitch, but it didn't start bleeding. Not yet anyways. "Anyway, what is it you need to talk about? I'm getting restless."

"I may not have the Millennium Eye anymore, Kaiba, but I can still sense upcoming danger. It feels slightly familiar. Once you've been with the Millennium Items for a while you can sense certain things. Something is about to happen."

Seto rolled his eyes, "Like I haven't heard that before."

"I'm serious, Kaiba! Darkness is coming and I don't think it's purely to do with the Millennium Items alone – this darkness is new…and powerful!"

"Yea, that's what Yugi told me days ago."

"Mr. Pegasus, you created the card game didn't you? You saw the monster stones," said Set, "What do you know about the…eighth Millennium Item?"

"Eh, may I ask who you are exactly?"

"Yugi's got a Pharaoh, Bakura's got a thief, I've got a Priest," said Seto.

"Oh…wait a minute. What eighth Millennium Item?"

"Did you find any tablet or any inscription of anything about an eighth Millennium Item – a sword?"

"A sword?"

"Yes, a sword."

"I don't recall. Should I know of one?" Pegasus frowned.

"There is one, supposedly more powerful than the other seven combined," said Set, "The Pharaoh was able to destroy it, but we believe that…evildoers are trying to repair and cause more destruction."

"Evildoers? You can't supply me with names? What, is this a secret society?"

Seto was unsure if Pegasus was a wizard or not (but then again, seems that everyone he knows has some sort of magic within them…), but decided to play it safe. "You can say that – but as far as these company threats – I know for a fact that Gozaburo Kaiba is trying to retake Kaiba Corp, so one of his associated could be forging these notes."

"Gozaburo Kaiba? Isn't he dead?"

"You think I would joke about that?" Seto glared at his former enemy, "I saw him on the way back from England."

"All of these events occurring so close to one another can't possibly be a coincidence," said Pegasus, "I'm sure things will reveal themselves in due time. However, there _is _one other things I came to talk to you about."

"I don't have all day to spend with you Pegasus," said Seto, "Unlike you, I have plenty of catch-up to do."

"This you might enjoy though, Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus grinned. Seto immediately frowned. Pegasus grinning couldn't be a good sign. "Oh don't look so upset! I'm merely planning a Duel Monsters tournament in about a year or so –"

"–Forget it."

Set blinked, "Seto, he didn't even tell you anything yet."

Seto shook his head, "I'm not combining both our company's resources so you can have the biggest gala in Duel Monsters history."

Pegasus chuckled, shaking his head, "No, silly! I was wondering if you wouldn't mind having someone install those hologram things around Duelist Kingdom. Some of those old dueling arenas are falling apart, you know. Besides, most duelists are more into your duel-disks anyways!"

"I suppose I could look into it," sighed Seto, "Is that all?"

"Yes I believe so. Thank you, Kaiba-boy – and when you come to a decision about those holo-emitters, let me know as soon as you can!"

His secretary paged him once Pegasus had softly closed the door behind him. "M-Mr. Kaiba, there's a man here to see you!"

Seto stared down at the office phone.

"She seemed nervous, Seto. Are your secretaries always scared of you?"

"Depends on my mood, but I don't see why she's so freaked out," Seto pushed one of the buttons on the phone rest, "I thought I told you no appointments until _after_ eleven."

"This is someone else sir," she squeaked, "Should I send him in?"

Seto rubbed his forehead; his headache was getting worse. "Fine, but it had better be brief – and bring a bottle of aspirin." He swiveled around in his chair, facing the window that doubled as the entire back wall of the office. "Back into the Rod, Set." Once his ancient self had disappeared back into his Millennium Item, Seto placed the artifact back into the briefcase, kicking that under his desk and out of sight. He turned back toward the window, watching the world below. He could see the cars, as small as they were from his height, creeping down the city streets and around what looked like a traffic accident. He saw Pegasus – or someone else in a red suit – heading to his limousine in the parking lot. Seto was also able to see someone – he guessed Roland – head to his limo and drive off. _Where's he going?_

/Probably for that head medicine you requested. Perhaps there's none in the building./

**/Probably…/**

He heard the door to his office open, close, and then the footsteps that echoed off of the floor as they approached the desk. Seto narrowed his eyes at the man's reflection in the window. "How'd you get up here?"

"I walked. I would have expected better security measures from you, Seto, though your secretary looked like she'd seen a ghost when I stepped off of the elevator and the same with the lady on the first floor."

"I was told the Aurors "Death Eater-proofed" the building. Besides, how would you expect someone to react after they see someone who's been missing for years suddenly walk right by?"

"Well if certain events never happened, I would never have had to go 'missing' in the first place!"

Seto frowned, "You never had to disappear at all. I stripped you of your title as CEO, not banished you from the world and I also wasn't the one stupid enough to get sent to Azkaban." He heard Gozaburo sit in the chair Pegasus had previously occupied.

"Is there a reason you won't turn around? Are you too ashamed to look on the face of your stepfather?"

"I'm debating on whether or not I could kill you with my mind – and if a mere glance could pull it off."

"Very funny, Seto. I'm surprised you haven't kicked me out yet."

"You came all the way up here for a reason – or are you just here to waste my time?"

"I wouldn't call it a waste of time – of course; you might consider it a waste."

Seto spun around, drumming his right hand on the desk, "You've got five minutes before I contact the Aurors." He positioned his hand near the 'security' button on the office phone.

Gozaburo took in his stepson's appearance, "I see you've finally come around to dressing like a businessman instead of that foolish Battle City look. That arm of yours still needs treatment?" He nodded to the sling.

"Why do you care?"

"Is it wrong for a father to care about his son?"

Seto narrowed his eyes into slits, "One, you're not my father and two, you _never_ cared about any other injury you dealt me in the past."

"Yes, but _that _injury isn't by my doing…though your hand there is another story – which is why I'm here."

"Don't think that because you're being…nice... that I'm letting you stay up here any longer. One minute's already up."

"I can treat it. Your hand – it was my quill that gave you those never-ending cuts and now I'm here to help."

Seto peered down at a document Pegasus had left him, "Somehow I doubt that."

"I have the antidote for your predicament and I'm willing to give it to you – in exchange for information."

"Gozaburo, I've been tortured to _death_ because I've refused to give information to swine like you. What makes you think you'll be any different?"

"I'm willing to give explanations – that is, if you extend my talk time."

Seto paused for a moment, and then moved his hand a little bit away from the phone, "Start talking."

"Haven't you wondered why Umbridge's quill never reopened scars on other people, but it continuously made you suffer?"

"It had crossed my mind – but that was until I figured out it was _your_ quill."

"I knew that if I left some sort of mark on you, you would eventually do anything to get it removed."

Seto raised an eyebrow, "You think a bloody hand is going to annoy me _that_ much? A few cuts are the least of my worries."

Gozaburo smirked, and leaned in, "Haven't you noticed you've been bleeding more often?"

"Forgive me if my other more painful injuries took my notice."

"Like now, for instance," Gozaburo pointed to Seto's drumming fingers. Blood was seeping through the bandages Hermione had fixed earlier that morning. "That quill had very dark magic flowing through it. It's designed to kill."

"You're going to kill me with a writing utensil? Are you _that_ desperate?"

"No," said Gozaburo, "But eventually, you'll have lost enough blood where you'll do anything for the antidote. Those cuts will open up more and more frequently and after a while, they won't close up ever again."

Seto shifted the sleeve of his shirt so it wouldn't get stained, "And what was this proposal you spoke of before?"

Gozaburo pulled a small blue vial from inside his suit, "I'll give you the antidote for your hand – the real deal, I swear – if you tell me where the last piece of the Millennium Sword is."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "What?" **/How would he know the Millennium Sword is broken and that there's a piece missing?/**

/Perhaps he's here on Voldemort's orders. He might have traced the possible people to have it to you and your friends./

"The last piece of the Millennium Sword – it's missing and I know you brats have it. If you tell me where it is, I can heal your hand this very instant."

"The Millennium Sword was destroyed months ago in Hogwarts – what makes you think I know where it is now?"

"Only so many people knew of its existence in the first place – and since you're close to most of them –"

"You think I would give _you _information? Old age is making you delusional."

"I don't have time for games, Seto."

"Neither do I."

"Then I'm only going to ask it once more. Where's the piece of the Millennium Sword?"

"Voldemort should have taken better care of his belongings," Seto said in a low, dangerous voice, "Now if you thought you could waltz your way up here and demand information from me like I was one of the Big 5, then you were mistaken."

They both stood at the same time; glaring cold grey eyes meeting with equally glaring icy blue. Neither of them moved. Finally, Gozaburo began pacing back and forth in front of the desk, "I don't get you, Seto. I'm trying to help you."

Seto sat back down, "You're asking for betrayal."

Gozaburo dismissively waved his hand, "I can see this is getting nowhere – but before I leave, I've got one thing to say – do you know what September 23rd is?"

Seto raised an eyebrow, "The day after the twenty-second?"

"Ha ha."

"It's the day I took Kaiba Corp out from under your feet four years ago. **(1)**

"Just checking – you're _so _busy nowadays, I just want to make sure small trivial dates don't escape your mind." With a cruel smirk, Gozaburo left, replacing the vial into his pocket and leaving Seto confused and staring at the door.

/What was that about?/

**/Beats me./** Seto raised his hand to rub his aching head, then remembered it was bleeding and put it back down. He sighed, carefully pulling the Rod out of the briefcase, allowing Set his own body.

"You should lie down. That computer isn't helping."

"I think I rested enough during the week you kept me laying in bed."

"I don't think you're ready to be back working, Seto. The doctors didn't want you back until Monday."

"What's one business day? _I'm fine_."

Set raised an eyebrow, "You're in pain. Anyone can see that. For the love of Ra, your stepfather was going to relieve you of some of that suffering!"

"He was trying to get information. It wasn't out of goodwill," Seto snapped.

Rolling his eyes, the priest took his reincarnate's hand and began cleaning the blood off, "I'm sure you can't wait to be able to use both arms again. I would have thought you would have ditched the sling by now."

Seto sighed, relieved of the subject change, "The thought had crossed my mind. I'm still not sure why Gozaburo came up here. He knows very well I wouldn't tell him anything."

"He's suspicious of us though. What if he goes after the Pharaoh next?"

Seto smirked, "Well, that'll give Yami the chance to pull a mind crush won't it?"

* * *

Mokuba browsed the aisle of the drugstore, "How many times does this make this week?"

"Three," said Hermione, "The people here are going to start recognizing us at this rate."

"Speak for yourself there, Hermione. I'm already famous! But seriously, how can such old wounds just not heal?"

"Magic?"

"Yea, I suppose so. Maybe we should just buy out their entire stock of gauze and rubbing alcohol."

"Well that's not really fair to anyone else who might need it," said Yugi, pausing to look at a new Duel Monsters magazine. His face was on the front cover. "Hellooo, what's this?"

"You didn't know that you're always on the cover of the _Duel Monsters Insider_, Yugi? I wonder where they got those pictures from…"

"Well, I don't really pay too much attention to magazines. Grandpa has some subscriptions but they're mostly archaeological ones. I sometimes read the articles on Egypt but that's about it."

"Well after we run this stuff to Seto, what do you guys wanna do?" asked Mokuba, "I hear the arcade's got some new games!"

"Sounds cool," said Yugi, "It's been so long since I've been to an arcade. I can't wait to play some games!"

"So Yugi – Joey and Tristan promised to give me a tour of the town today – do you know where they are?"

"I'm not sure," Yugi frowned, "But I know Tea's going to meet us at the restaurant for lunch in about an hour."

Mokuba glanced at his watch, "Well, if we get outta here and run this stuff up to Seto now, there's a chance we might be able to hang out there for a little bit before his secretary starts filling his schedule."

"Then let's go," said Yugi. He took their items to the register.

The clerk raised an eyebrow, "Weren't you here two days ago?"

"Probably," said Mokuba. He saw Yugi pull some money out of his pockets, "Oh, no, Yugi, I'll foot the bill."

"You're already paying for lunch, Mokuba – which is pretty considerate of you the way Tristan and Joey…mainly Joey – eat."

"Yea, well, _technically_ Seto's paying for it – he said to charge everything to Kaiba Corp." He showed the clerk his company credit card. Within minutes Mokuba had led them out of the store, into the bright sunlight, and back to the limo.

"So Yugi," Mokuba began as the limo passed through an intersection, "Are you going back to Hogwarts next year?"

Yugi frowned. He _was _a Hogwarts student, but would he be safer attending his last year at Domino High with his friends, away from Voldemort?

/Going back isn't a good idea, Yugi. Voldemort was after the Millennium Items once, and now that he's after the Sword again, we should stay as far from him as possible. Dumbledore's death could have been the trigger Voldemort needed to begin controlling the British Ministry of Magic./

**/So you're saying I should go back to Domino High?/**

/Yes – you could still learn magic on the side. Hermione's getting the 7th year books, you can study together./

**/Good point, Pharaoh./**

"No, I think I'll be in Domino this year. Let's not make things easier for Voldemort."

"Oh, okay. Do you know what Seto's doing?"

"I'm sure he'll be here too," said Yugi, "But you'll have to ask him yourself. I have no idea."

Hermione stared at her hands, folded in her lap. _I hope Harry and Ron are alright – and aren't running into trouble._

"You okay Hermione?" Mokuba asked, frowning.

"Yes, I'm just worried about Harry and Ron. I miss them."

"You think Harry will go back to Hogwarts?" Yugi asked.

Hermione shrugged, "It can't possibly be as safe without Dumbledore. He might, but I don't know."

Yami phased out of the Puzzle, "Harry would be much better off if he didn't go back. Without the wards Dumbledore placed on the school, it's only a matter of time before Voldemort takes it over." Yugi nodded in agreement.

The remainder of the car ride was relatively quiet. Hermione stared out the window, watching the city buildings fly past as they drove by while Yugi was watching Mokuba play one of his handheld video games. Roland drove the limo around another corner before entering the parking lot behind Kaiba Corp. Once the car fully stopped in the reserved parking space, Mokuba jumped out, the bag of purchases in hand, and bolted to the front entrance.

/Yugi! Let me take over!/

Yugi ran after Mokuba. **/What's wrong?/**

/I sense someone – a Death Eater I believe. We have to stop Mokuba before he runs head first into someone!/

Yami quickly took control, ready to mind crush if necessary, when he heard a small thud. Quickening his pace, Yami reached the front doors to find Mokuba sitting on the ground, grinning from ear to ear. "Mokuba! Are you alright?"

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed the younger Kaiba, "I pulled a Joey!"

"You…pulled a…Joey?" asked Yami.

"Yep! I forgot to open the door and ran right into it!"

Yami slapped a hand to his forehead, "You shouldn't run off like this Mokuba. I'm not sensing a friendly presence nearby – for all we know, Death Eaters are here."

Mokuba's eyes widened, "I thought the Arthors or whoever they are put shields up or something."

"The Aurors were supposed to, yes," said Hermione. She picked up the shopping bag from the ground, "But they may have found another way in."

"Stay close, Mokuba," said Yami, heading inside. The lobby seemed peaceful enough. The receptionist was behind the front desk, typing away. There didn't seem to be any other suspicious people around.

The receptionist looked up when she heard Mokuba's name. "Mr. Kaiba!"

Mokuba leaned against the counter, "What's up?"

"This was delivered about five minutes ago for Mr. Kaiba – my, this can get confusing – the other Mr. Kaiba."

"Something for Seto?" Mokuba asked, "Cool – what is it?"

The receptionist reached down and retrieved a small potted plant, "Someone from the nursery on the edge of town delivered this – he said he was supposed to deliver it as a gift from one of their customers."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Taking the small pot, Mokuba headed to the nearest elevator. The light above the door showed it descending from at least the ninth floor.

"Elevator's slow today…" Mokuba said, "Usually it's down here by now."

"Perhaps its dropping off a lot of people," said Hermione, "…or it could just be slow."

The doors finally whooshed open. There was a man already inside, but he didn't get out when they entered. "Can you hit the top floor?" Mokuba asked the other rider. He didn't look up to see who the man was; he was counting the leaves on the small plant in his hands. However, he immediately felt Hermione and Yami tense up beside him.

"Hello, Mokuba," said a bitter voice.

Mokuba's blood ran cold. After four years, and a virtual world encounter, he never thought he'd hear his stepfather again. He looked up. Hermione had her wand out, aimed between the man's eyes; Yami had his hand rested on the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck.

Gozaburo rolled his eyes, "Oh put that away, dear. I'm not going to harm him. I didn't realize it was illegal to ride in an elevator with my stepson. Sure I was going to get off at the lobby, but I haven't seen you in _so_ long." He knelt down to be at eye level with the younger Kaiba, who immediately backed away into Hermione, who didn't put away her wand. "My you've grown up, kid. How old are you now?"

"T-t-twelve," he said shaking. What was Gozaburo doing in Kaiba Corp?

"There's no need for you to be afraid, Mokuba," said Gozaburo calmly, "I was just here for…a friendly visit with my successor."

"W-what do you want with Seto?" Mokuba demanded, "If you've hurt him…"

"No!" Gozaburo stood up, "We just talked, and that's all. Nice plant, by the way."

Yami looked back and forth between Mokuba and Gozaburo. There didn't seem to be any hostility in the air. Mokuba was terrified, but Gozaburo didn't seem to have any double meaning behind his words. "He's telling the truth, Mokuba."

"It's been four years," Gozaburo mused, leaning against the elevator wall, "Four years since I lost Kaiba Corp. How have things been? Doing well in school?" The elevator just passed the eighth floor. Still many more to go.

"Uh huh," said Mokuba, reverting his gaze to the plant. He felt as if Gozaburo's stare was seeping into his very soul, and it freaked him out.

"What are you really here for?" asked Yami, "We know you won't just waltz into Kaiba Corp unless you wanted something from Kaiba or Mokuba."

"I told you, Muto. Seto and I had a talk. Nothing more, in fact, I offered to help him." He narrowed his eyes at Hermione, "I thought I told you I'm not going to harm Mokuba – if I was going to it would have already happened – so you can put the wand away. Or I can put it away for you."

Hermione slowly withdrew her arm, but she didn't put her wand back into her pocket.

"That's better," Gozaburo turned to Yami this time, "I've got a question for you, Muto – what exactly happened when you defeated Voldemort and the Millennium Sword in Hogwarts?"

**/He knows!/**

/Perhaps – perhaps not./ "He disappeared and the Millennium Sword shattered to pieces."

"That's it?"

"Why?"

"I'm sure your Millennium Puzzle can detect things from other Millennium Items, can't it?"

Yami looked down at his Puzzle, "Why ask?"

"Curious that's all."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Curiosity kills the cat you know."

Mokuba looked up at her, eyes wide. "Huh?"

The elevator finally hit the top floor. Mokuba was the first to step off then ran down the corridor towards his brother's office, pulling Yami along with him.

Mokuba nearly ran smack into the secretary's desk, "Heh – almost pulled another Joey."

"Stop running into everything Mokuba!" Yami called from behind him.

"Is Seto busy yet?"

The secretary shook her head, "Not for another hour or so. His next appointment is with the board of directors at noon."

"Ok thanks!" He jumped up and ran past, nearly running into the Seto's office door. _I gotta stop doing that …_.

"What's your rush, Mokuba?" asked Hermione, "If you're not careful you're going to get hurt."

"I'm not sure. Usually I don't run into things…"

"You must not have heard the secretary then," said Hermione, "She said the floors were polished this morning."

"Makes sense," said Yami, remembering Mokuba's near accidents.

"Okay, Seto, here's the stuff…you…wanted," said Mokuba, trailing off as he opened the door. The lights inside were off and no one was at the desk. "Seto?"

"Over here, Mokuba," said Set softly. He was sitting in the chair Pegasus had previously occupied, but now it was pushed next to the couch. As they approached, Mokuba could make out his brother lying on the office couch, apparently asleep. A large bag of ice was on his head.

"What's wrong with him?" Mokuba moaned, "Was it Gozaburo?"

Set shook his head, "It's this headache he's been having. I suppose it's worse than ever now."

"Is that what the ice is for then?" asked Yugi. He held out the Puzzle for Yami to claim his own body.

"Yes, he said it might help, but if you ask me, he's trying to freeze his brain altogether."

"He's had this for days, and it hasn't let up at all?" asked Mokuba.

"No," said Set, "He was fine while meeting with someone named Pegasus, and then his stepfather, but once he left and Seto started working his head began to ache."

"Strange," said Hermione, placing the shopping bag on the desk, "Haven't you noticed this only happens when he's on his computer?"

"I told him he should break more often," Mokuba moaned.

"No," said Yami, looking down at the Puzzle, "I don't think this is an actual illness. I think I can sense another presence in the room."

Hermione looked around, "When you two were spirits we were able to see you – but I don't see anyone else here."

Set looked at the Rod clenched in his hand, "Perhaps this being isn't in the actual room exactly."

"What do you mean?" asked Mokuba, "Is there a ghost or something hurting my brother?"  
"No, I don't think so," said Set, still looking uncertainly at the Rod, "Perhaps there's someone in Seto's soul room."

"Can't you go in and look?" asked Yugi, "You _are _his other half you know."

"Yes but…" Set bit his lip, "Seto's door is always closed. He doesn't like me where I can access his memories and thoughts."

"I think he'll forgive you," Mokuba sighed, "Just stop this!"

With the Millennium Rod held tightly in one hand, Set slowly raised his other over Seto's ice-covered forehead. He hesitated for a moment, and then placed his hand on the cold skin. The others watched the Millennium Rod begin to glow as Set closed his eyes.

He felt Seto wince as he was transported directly in Seto's soul room. _If my being here is hurting him, then there has to be something – or someone – else here too._ He looked around; he was in a spitting image of the Kaiba Corp office. The desk was at the long back window, and the chair was turned away, towards the windows. The chairs on the opposite side of the desk were vacant, as they should be, as was the couch off to the side. As the priest walked further into the room, he noticed something very peculiar. The desk drawers were open and the laptop was on.

"Odd," Set murmured, closing the drawers, "Seto isn't this disorganized."

He looked up from the failed login screen on the laptop. In the actual office, on the right side, there was a door in the corner that led down to an older dueling arena, where in the Virtual World Seto defeated his stepfather, and in the real world where he was handed his first defeat. However, in the soul room version, there was also a doorway on the left. As Set slowly walked towards this new room, he could hear rustling coming from inside. He gripped the Rod tightly, ready to reveal the hidden dagger and attack if necessary. He was closer now, and could hear voices – one of them he recognized as Seto's – coming from inside.

Rod at the ready, he burst through the doorway and stopped short. It was a much smaller room than the main office area – but still plenty big – and Set saw that there were filing cabinets all along the walls. However, most of them were open and their contents scattered across the room. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were all a bland-looking manila. He saw one was open upside-down and picked it up. Inside, there seemed to be a video playing in the paper clipped into the folder.

At first, the "screen" was dark, but then a ceiling came into view, and then moved left to look at Vaasth. _This must be before I arrived in that pyramid_, Set thought to himself, _As the Pharaoh told me his old memories are lost and his new ones scattered behind the doors of his soul, this must be where Seto keeps his memories, but why are they scattered and tossed about in this way?_

"_**I've been expecting you, Seto Kaiba," Vaasth smiled, "I knew sooner or later you'd arrive at my doorstep. Though I must admit, this wasn't the outcome I was expecting."**_

"_**That's nice," Seto muttered. **_Set watched as his other half tried to sit up, but failed.

"_**Funny how a strong warrior such as yourself ends up beaten and broken in my grasp so easily. I would have expected some stronger resistance from you."**_

"_**I didn't expect to become target practice when I got here," said Seto, **_and the view shifted back to the ceiling,_** "Come here to gloat?"**_

"_**Perhaps," Vaasth smirked, "Your weapons have been removed, and now you're nothing but a wounded boy. It seems you and your friends are fighting a losing battle, Seto. I can't be stopped, and thanks to Hermione's generous gift, I'll be strong enough to finally crush the pitiful Rebellion! You're friends will fail and will suffer from it."**_

"_**You can't defeat us," said Seto, **_as he turned back towards her_**, "We're more than just a bunch of kids. We'll overcome whatever you throw at us."**_

"_**It'll be a waste of stamina. There's only one monster in existence that can defeat me, and it happens to be somewhere in the castle."**_

"_**What makes you think we won't find it?"**_

_**Vaasth gave a cold chuckle, "Even if you did find it, you don't have a capsule shooter at your disposal. It would be confiscated off of you within mere moments."**_

"_**In the end, you won't be able to succeed," said Seto coldly, "We'll make sure of that."**_

"_**Is that a threat?"**_

"…_**Possibly."**_

"_**Such strong words coming from someone who can barely get off that bed," Vaasth smirked, "Your threat doesn't scare me at all."**_

"_**I wouldn't be surprised if the others are on their way now. You can't be all that powerful now if you just got your body."**_

_**Vaasth was silent for a moment, then spoke, her voice cold, "I may not be at full strength yet, but I assure you, I am still quite powerful!" She fingered her staff gingerly and turned to face him, a cruel smile etched on her face, "Care for a demonstration?"**_

The focus now was the staff_**, "I think I've been dealt enough pain for one day."**_

"_**Why Seto," Vaasth laughed wickedly, "You don't know the meaning of the word pain! Here, I'll show you!" **_Set watched as Vaasth pressed the scepter against the covered wound on Seto's left arm, a wicked smile etched on her face. He gasped; at that point, he could feel the pain she had given Seto, though it wasn't nearly as intense. The screen moved to darkness at the same time and he thought the memory had ended, but then Vaasth came into view once more.

"_**Not even a whimper…impressive," she said softly, "I think I've done enough for now." She got up and headed to the door, "I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time at all, but don't try anything stupid if you want to stay out of the cells below." **_Set watched her leave and then the folder closed itself on its own. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. _Someone was searching through Seto's memories! _

The voices he had heard before were still around, however, and then he noticed something he hadn't noticed the first time: a man, or a 3D shadow of one, was in the opposite corner of the room, looking through another of the memory folders; a drawer to the closest cabinet wide open.

"Who are you?" Set demanded, aiming the Rod at the stranger, "How did you get in here?"

The shadow, startled, dropped the memory it was watching into the drawer and turned towards Set. At least, Set thought it was turned towards him. The shadow didn't have a face or any feature to distinguish its front from its back. It was just a black blob mostly resembling a person. Set shot a blast of magic from the Millennium Rod toward the shadow, which was somehow able to repel the magic back at him. He dropped to the floor and the dark jet hit the wall of the room. By the time Set got to his feet, the stranger had fled, but there was a nice scorch mark in the wall. He carefully stepped over to where the shadowy stranger was standing and picked up the memory he was so focused on. He watched the events play out and frowned. _Seto will not be pleased_ ….

* * *

"I'm impressed," said Aknadin, now completely visible in spirit form, "It seems you _finally _got the hang of putting the sword back together."

"Mhmm," Gozaburo murmured, the puzzle before him, "What did you find out?"

"For one thing, you were not a very nice father to him."

"How I treated Seto and his brat brother doesn't matter at this point," Gozaburo snapped, "What did you find that's actually relevant?"

"Well, I was right about entry. The stronger I get, the more force it will require to break through into his mind. This last time temporarily disabled him. I saw my son sitting beside him lying down with ice on his head."

"Must've been some headache," Gozaburo grinned, "What else?"

"You were right to have suspicions when you left his office. He does know where the final piece is, but…"

Gozaburo looked up suddenly, "Don't tell me you were spotted?"

Aknadin nodded, "I was. By my own son, no less, though he has no idea who it was he attacked. I don't know if I'll be able to go back. I'm sure Set will enable some sort of defense within Seto's mind. A few more moments and I would have known where the tip of the Sword is!"

"If our cover is blown, then we don't have much time," said Gozaburo, magically sealing three fragments together, "Why don't you go back before Seto can contact Aurors to get his mind completely off limits and learn what you can?"

"It would be easier if he were asleep," Aknadin muttered, "I've figured out that when he's asleep his soul room is deserted. There's too much risk of being caught again while he's up and about."

"Do whatever you have to do," said Gozaburo, "I don't care if you knock him into a coma…actually I might care…but I want to know where that piece is!"

"Very well – but I can't do it now. Give me an hour or so to regain my energy."

* * *

The first thing when Seto realized when he opened his eyes was that he wasn't in his office chair, but lying on his couch. He didn't remember walking across the room to lie down. The second was Yugi, Hermione and Mokuba gathered around him with worried looks on their faces. The third was something both warm and cold on his forehead. The fourth was the lack of aspirin and head-pounding pain when he turned his head. It took him another moment to realize that it was Set's hand on his forehead, the priest standing next to him, and the Rod glowing.

"What is he doing?"

Mokuba bit his lip, "He's in your head looking for something."

Seto reached over and plucked the Rod from his ancient self, ending the glow and Set's memory-watching session, "Not anymore," he growled, sitting up. He tossed the Rod back to the bewildered spirit, "Stay out of my head."

Set sighed as Seto moved back to his desk, "I'm sorry, but I think I found the source of your pain. Someone was searching you."

"Searching?" Yami asked, "For what?"

"Something within your memories, Seto. I've never seen part of a soul room in such disarray! Whoever it was had been searching for a while, and they might come back!"

"Are you telling me," Seto began slowly in a low voice, "That someone broke into my soul, tore it apart, didn't find what they were looking for and were caught, and you don't know who it was?"

"Pretty much."

Seto sighed and sank into his chair, "What were they looking for?"

"It's hard to say," said Set, "Many files were all over the floor."

"Files?" Yugi asked, "What files?"

"I see," said Yami, "Like my memories are guarded behind doors in a labyrinth, I'm guessing Kaiba's soul is like an office, and his memories are like files in a cabinet."

Seto looked up, pressing his bag of ice harder against his forehead, "What, were you all traipsing through my head?"

"No," Set reassured him, "Just me – and the intruder. Maybe you should come and look…."

"Can't," Seto glanced at his watch, "I've got twenty minutes before I meet with the Board of Directors and things that have to be done before then."

"Like this?" Hermione cried, "You're ill! You can't be thinking of going back to work now!"

"I'm fine. Headaches don't bother me that much."

"Kaiba, you're not fooling anyone," said Yami, "You were there, unconscious! How do you expect to make it to the end of the day like this?"

"_Asleep_, not unconscious, and that wasn't a headache – that was a privacy-invading twit. Headaches I can handle." He opened his laptop and immediately started typing one-handed.

"We'll let you get back to work then," said Yugi, taking the Puzzle back. He waited for Yami to disappear before opening the door, "If you need us, just call the Game Shop."

Mokuba frowned – it was pretty clear Seto wasn't going to budge about his current health but moved to follow Yugi, "Be careful, Seto. Don't overexert yourself."

"I'll be fine, kiddo. Go with Yugi to the arcade or wherever and have some fun. I'll see you back at the mansion later."

Mokuba nodded, and left with the others. Seto sighed, "What do you think?"

Set raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Who do you think is behind this?" Seto asked, "Someone tries to knock me off in my plane – failure. Gozaburo tries to hack the Kaiba Corporation computer systems – failure. Someone ticks me off – success."

"If all three _are _related, I don't see how it's the same person."

"I'll almost guarantee that Gozaburo set up the plane crash. He tried to defeat us in the pyramid and failed there. Noa stops him from hacking into Kaiba Corp, why wouldn't he try and snoop through my brain too while he's at it?"

"If Gozaburo Kaiba was in your head, he wouldn't appear as a shadow. This person – whoever it was – didn't seem to be anyone! It was as if he wasn't alive! Gozaburo would have appeared the way he does now."

"Hmm," Seto muttered, "It's got to be Gozaburo – who else would pop in my head the only times I decide to work? Hermione was right – these headaches occur once I open my laptop."

"Does it hurt the same as before now?" asked Set.

"No – thankfully." He opened Noa's program, tossing the bag of melting ice into the trash on the opposite side of the desk.

"What's up, Seto? Feeling better?"

"I wish. Any new activity from Gozaburo?"

"Nothing so far. But I found this interesting – several stations in one of your research labs have been accessed."

Seto raised an eyebrow, "What makes that so interesting? I've got technicians down there all the time working on a new upgrade to the duel-disks."

"The computer terminals in Lab 1 were accessed _way _long after the labs close. I'm talking two in the morning."

Seto frowned, "The labs close at five every night. Nobody should be able to get in until the morning once they're locked up."

"Can't you get in, Seto?"

"Yes, but I've been too busy under medical house arrest to be in the lab. See if you can find out who's been sneaking in and why."

"Will do, Seto," said Noa, minimizing his screen with Seto. He immediately began accessing the lab networks.

Seto rose from his seat and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got a board meeting. I get to sit for an hour and listen to what's been going on for the past year." Seto sighed and headed out.

Set looked around and plopped down onto the couch, "I suppose I'll sit around and wait for him to come back…."

* * *

"You'd think it was the end of the world," Tonks muttered, adding the last book on her list to the stack in her arms, "Everyone's buying out the stuff we need."

"With Dumbledore gone, the hope some of the people had for defeating You-Know-Who are gone now. Learning basic defense could be the only thing that helps them sleep at night. At least we found everything," said Remus, "Once we drop this back off in Japan I want to meet up with Mad-Eye and see if he was able to locate any more Death Eaters."

"I don't think any of those Kaiba Corp employees are Death Eaters – what would they have to gain working for a Muggle company?"

"I don't know," said Remus, sighing, "But I'm sure they're there. Gozaburo Kaiba was one, after all."

"He still is," said Tonks, "And if he gets to the power he was at before he lost that company, we're all doomed." She paid the bookshop owner and followed Remus out, "He was working with You-Know-Who in the last war. What could he possibly gain working for…_him _now that he's lost his power footing?"

Remus shrugged, "I don't know, but I'm sure it'll be harder for him to get what he wants after we placed the wards around his old office building and the Kaiba home. Perhaps we should see if Mad-Eye has any other information on him."

"Sounds like a good idea," Tonks nodded. "Look at this, Remus. Not so long ago, Diagon Alley would be full of shoppers and little stands. Now we're like the only ones living in a ghost town. I'm surprised Flourish and Blotts is still open."

"Me too, and so is the Apothecary, though I'm not sure if Hermione will be brewing potions."

"Well, we got her the best defensive books and potions the shop had. I'm sure she'll be doing _something_."

"You know…I've got a bad feeling…like something is about to happen."

Remus paused to look at her, "Oh?"

Tonks nodded, frowning, "Yea, it's not a nice feeling. Just looking at the ghostliness of the street and the current situation, it seems like things are going to turn upside down really soon."

"I'm sure You-Know-Who has subordinates in the Ministry and it's only a matter of time," said Remus, "But the only thing we can do is take things one day at a time. It's going to happen. It's just a question of when."

* * *

I can only hope that everything in this chapter made a general amount of sense, as it was a work in progress for several months and I'm sure ideas were lost and found a bit differently as time went on. Let me know _please_ if there's anything remotely confusing.

**(1)** I believe when Seto celebrated his birthday at Hogwarts in TRI, he turned seventeen. So I'm going to guess he took the company at thirteen. All I know is that it was after he turned ten and before sixteen.

A short while ago I was extremely bored and started reading through Tom Riddle's Item again and let me tell you, if I compared my writing now to the first few chapters that I made back in late 2005, I probably wouldn't be able to recognize it. I guess I can say that my writing's definitely improved over the years. But the beginning – ick! Didn't really like how I started it off. My goodness that was four years ago…I can't believe this fanfic series is almost _four_ years old!! _Anyway_, I'm thinking of revising Tom Riddle's Item (collective gasp!) to make it seem…less suckish and correct all of the issues that never got explained on the first go. What do you all think? Make a revision or let it be?


	24. Chapter 24

Hello dear readers! I'm sorry you all had to wait so long, but here's the latest installment! As there was such a long break between this and the last update, I've tried to make sure I didn't screw up any details that are reoccuring. If you've got any questions or are just plain confused, feel free to review or PM me. While I might be confusing you on purpose, the odds are I'm not.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, Seto would have been able to beat Yugi (and then get viciously creamed in the following rematch!). I'd also own all the trading cards I wish I'd owned and would have replica decks of Yugi, Seto and Joey (but since they seem to have slightly different decks in every duel I'd have to pick one – such choices!!).

I also don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be richer than super-special-awesomely rich and wouldn't have the need to write this mini fanfiction series (and those who died in Deathly Hallows might not have died...). It's also leaving you, dear readers, without a story to enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 24

"It seems Hermione's doing okay. She was out with some of Yugi's friends getting some new things. They've been showing her around the town and she says Remus and Tonks are getting her 7th year books – and that she's not going back to Hogwarts," said Harry, placing Hermione's most recent letter back into its envelope. "I guess she's having fun."

Ron frowned, "I thought we'd see her this summer. I guess she'd rather be with the others in Japan…."

"Oh, don't be such a thick-headed prat, Ron!" Ginny snapped, stroking Pigmy Puff Fred and George got her, "She doesn't live here you know. Just because she stays every summer in the past doesn't mean she has to this year. She can go wherever she wants."

Harry, Ron and Ginny were in the Weasley living room. Fred and George were at their shop releasing their new product, Vanishing Shoes. The table near the Weasley kitchen was covered in the obituary sections from the previous Daily Prophets from that week. A mixture of smells was coming from the kitchen which could only mean Mrs. Weasley was cooking.

"Yea," Ron said finally, "You're right…."

Mrs. Weasley then entered the living room, drying off a just-scrubbed pan, "Lunch is ready! Ginny, you did de-gnome the garden didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Ginny sighed and went upstairs.

Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry, "Harry, dear, the Minister is coming. His owl arrived early this morning. He'd like to see you and Ronald. Goodness, it must be important if he's coming here personally!"

"Why would the Minister want to see us?" asked Harry, puzzled.

Ron shrugged, following Harry into the kitchen, "Must be because you're "the Chosen One". I think the real question is why does he want to see _me_? What have I done that's so special?"

"Well you were with me in the Department of Mysteries," said Harry, "Maybe he wants to talk about that."

"Yea, but that was over a year ago, Harry. Besides, Ginny and Hermione were there too. It didn't seem like the Minister wanted to see them."

"Hermione's not here," Harry reminded him, "So we don't know."

"Yea…," Ron muttered. "So do you think she's _really_ having fun there with Yugi and the others?"

Harry shrugged, "I suppose. Can always write and ask you know."

"Yea…."

Harry glanced at the clock sitting next to the kitchen table. All of the hands were pointing to "Mortal Peril". "Wasn't it above the fireplace yesterday?"

"Yea," said Ron, "Mum takes it everywhere with her. It's always pointing that way now too, unless Dad is traveling or something. Though a while ago it would always point Fred and George to 'Mortal Peril' and for the longest time no one knew why – that is, until we figured out it was because they were testing their products on themselves."

"What do you think the Minister of Magic wants," said Harry, "You'd think he would be too busy with the war to worry about us."

"Well, everyone thinks you're the savior of the wizarding world," said Ron, "Maybe they want to turn you into some sort of fighting machine or something – being that you've stood up to You-Know-Who what – five times now?"

Harry chuckled, and grabbed a freshly baked roll from the table. Ron piled a foot-long sandwich and followed Harry out into the garden. The gnomes were running around chasing each other in and out of the bushes.

"I thought Ginny already de-gnomed the garden," said Harry, "That's what she told Mrs. Weasley…."

"She did do it yesterday," said Ron, "But that was yesterday. You'd think these guys would take a hint."

Harry looked up toward the sky. It was clear, not a cloud in sight, "I'm up for a game of Quidditch later, after the Minister leaves. Fred and George are coming back today after the shop closes, aren't they?"

"I think so," said Ron, taking a large bite of sandwich, "Hey! We can have a mini game of Quidditch! I'll keep for both teams – be neutral, you know. Fred and George can be chasers or something you and Ginny can be seekers!"

Harry grinned," Sounds great!"

"Harry Potter!" called a voice from behind them. They turned to see a man in a traveling cloak approach. "I'm so pleased to finally meet you, Harry. I'm Rufus Scrimgeour, Harry, Minister of Magic." He turned to look at Ron, "And you must be Ron Weasley!"

Ron nodded his mouth full of sandwich.

"Why do you need to see us, Minister?" Harry asked.

"Well, Harry, it's not just you two I need to see. I also seek an audience with Ryou Bakura, Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, Marik Ishtar, and Hermione Granger. I know none of them are here, but you are all acquaintances. Do you know where they are? It makes things a little easier if we can all meet and talk together."

"I dunno where Ryou and Marik are," said Ron, "But the others are in Japan."

The minister's smile fell a little, "Well maybe Mr. Muto or Mr. Kaiba or Miss Granger will know where they are."

"Is something wrong, Minister?" asked Harry.

"Oh, no, Harry, just business. Everything can be explained once we all meet up together," he turned to Ron, "You say they're in Japan?" He looked at his watch. It was most peculiar. Instead of one normal clock face, there were many little ones for what seemed like the major cities in the world.

"Wicked," said Ron.

The minister chuckled, "You like it? It was a gift from Cornelius Fudge. He said it would help when I go on international appointments. However…" he tapped it with his wand, "It seems to have a nasty little habit of stopping. Can't get the blasted thing to work properly…. Shall we be off – actually no…let me speak to Molly first. Can't let her think I'm shanghaiing you two."

"What 'business' do you think the Minister's up to?" asked Harry when Scrimgeour was out of earshot, "What've we done?"

"Only thing that comes to mind is that we've all fought those Death Eaters last month," said Ron.

Harry shrugged, "Probably, but why wait until now?"

The minister had returned much sooner than Harry had thought. "Alright, boys, Mrs. Weasley allowed me to steal you away from her home for a few hours. Any longer and I'll contact her about the delay."

"What have we done, Minister?" asked Ron, "Is it because of the stuff we did at Hogwarts?"

"Well partially," said Scrimgeour, Everything will be explained when we get everyone together. Now, do you know where in Japan we go?"

"Domino City," said Harry, "I think it's Domino City."

"Okay then," said the Minister, pulling a smelly sock from his cloak. He tapped it with his wand, "Let's go boys." He led them off the boundaries of the Weasley's land, where it was safe to portkey from. Both Harry and Ron grabbed onto the sock, and after a few moments there was the familiar jerk and they were off.

* * *

"There you are!" Tea exclaimed, standing outside the restaurant, "I was waiting for you!"

"Sorry, Tea," said Yugi, "We made a pit stop at Kaiba Corp."

"Oh," she said, "How is Kaiba?"

"Not great," said Mokuba sadly, "Ever since he got back from England he's been sick. First there was the plane crash and the arm injury, and then he's been so tired – I mean more tired than usual. I don't mean overworking – and now he's got all these headaches. Something's not right."

Tea noticed Yugi's warning glance, "Well, I'm sure he'll be fine in a day or two."

Hermione looked around, "Are we in the middle of the city?"

"Sort of," said Tea, "This is the east end. There's mostly shopping and eateries here, along with Yugi and Joey's favorite arcade. Shadier parts of the city are the west and south ends. The business district is more in the northern area. Have you heard from Tristan or Joey yet?"

Yugi shook his head, "They are going to give Hermione a tour later, but I don't know if we're meeting them here."

"Well, you're meeting us here," said a familiar voice from around the corner. Around came Marik and Ryou.

"I hope you didn't mind, Mokuba. I heard they were in town and invited them," said Tea.

"No problem, Tea! You think you can call Joey and Tristan and see if they're coming?" Mokuba asked.

"Sure, let me do that," said Tea. She sat down at a nearby bench and began digging through her purse for her cell phone.

"Don't worry about it, Tea," said Ryou, pulling out his cell phone, "I'll call…but, eh, what's Joey's number?"

He dialed and waited, and waited, and waited some more, "I don't think he's at home. Does he have a cell?"

Yugi frowned, "Yes, but it doesn't work. He didn't have the money to get it fixed so he usually tells people to call his house."

"What about Tristan?"

"What about me?"

Yugi turned to look behind him. Joey, eating a slice of pizza, and Tristan were coming down the street.

"Got a call from Gramps about ten minutes ago," said Joey, swallowing a huge bite, "Let's eat!"

Ryou blinked, "You're eating pizza and you're still hungry?"

"Always hungry. C'mon, I'm starving!"

Their waiter sat them at a corner booth, laid out their menus and walked off.

"Um, just how hungry are you guys?" asked Mokuba, "Just trying to get an estimate on what the bill's gonna be."

Marik looked over at Joey who was looking hungrily at the menu, "Aim high."

"Do you have enough to cover everything Mokuba?" asked Tea, "Because I'll be glad to help pay."

"No, it's ok, Tea. _Technically_, Seto's paying for it in the end."

"How is Rich Boy these days? Still recovering from all that stuff?" asked Joey, not taking his eyes off the menu. Tea, Tristan, Hermione, and Yugi glanced at each other, glared at Joey, and back towards their menus.

Mokuba looked up, puzzled, "'all that stuff'? It was just his left arm that was injured in the crash, and he had the right hand injury since before he came home…," he trailed off, realization hitting him in the face, "Or is there something else that happened in that crash!?" He turned to his left, "Yugi?"

Yugi smiled meekly at Mokuba and returned to his menu, "Thank you, Joey for keeping that a secret."

"Eh…uh…no problem, Yugi…I think."

"Something else _did_ happen, didn't it!?"

Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea exchanged nervous glances. Ryou and Marik were wearing identical looks of confusion.

"Guys, what aren't you telling me!?"

"Mokuba," Tea began slowly, "All you need to know right now is that your brother loves you very much and there is a reason he's not giving you all the details."

"So something else bad happened in that crash? Is that why Seto won't tell me what's wrong with him?"

"Mokuba, he'll tell you when he's ready," said Yugi, "I wouldn't push the issue with him."

He sank down into his seat glaring at everyone around him. "But he's my brother – and he's been hurt! Wait, I know why he's doing this. He doesn't want me to worry! What, does he think I wouldn't figure it out? Well now I'm really worried! If he won't tell me, I'll figure it out some other way. I want to know what happened in that crash and I want to know _now_!"

People in the restaurant were beginning to turn and look at them. Mokuba pouted and sank further down in his seat. Ryou and Marik looked at each other. "Mokuba," said Ryou, "If it's any consolation, Marik and I am just as clueless are you are."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," Mokuba sighed, "I just want to know the truth!"

"Mokuba, Seto will tell you when he's ready," said Hermione, "but for now, know that it's nothing he can't handle. He's recovering and is going to be fine."

Mokuba looked up at her, eyes wide, "Promise me?"

"I promise."

"_We_ promise," said Yugi, "Everything will be fine."

Mokuba nodded and returned his gaze to the menu. "What if he never tells me? How will I know the truth?"

"I'm sure he'll explain things to you, Mokuba," said Tristan.

"I'd like someone to explain things to us," said Marik, "Ryou and I have been lost since this conversation started."

"You're probably going to tell them aren't you?" asked Mokuba, frowning, "You can tell _them_, but you can't tell me? _That's_ fair, all right. Why won't you tell me?"

"When we get back to the house, Mokuba," said Yugi, "Not here." _I never knew Mokuba was this persistent_!

/Well, he really didn't have a reason to be this way until Joey opened the door for it./

**/Yea, I suppose. Do you think we're doing the right thing by telling him?/**

/He's going to find out eventually – unless Kaiba really doesn't intend on telling him what happened. If so, Mokuba is only going to get more persistent until someone tells him anyways./

**/So you think I'm doing the right thing?/**

/I'll support your decision either way, Yugi./

Mokuba sighed, "No, Yugi. Here. Now. What happened?"

Yugi sighed, "You're becoming just as stubborn as your brother, you know that?"

"Don't try to change the subject."

"I'll tell you the truth – but not here. You have to promise me that you won't press your brother for details or bug him about it. He'll tell you when he's ready to tell you. Understand?"

Mokuba nodded, "Where?"

"Game shop after Hermione leaves with Joey and Tristan," said Yugi, and he turned to Marik and Ryou, "If you want to know what happened you're welcome to come."

At that point their waitress came around to take their orders. The rest of lunch passed without incident until Tristan and Joey decided to make a contest out of their breadbowls. In the end, Ryou and Yugi were smacking both of their backs until they stopped coughing. At a slightly slower pace, Joey downed the rest of his food, finishing just before Tristan ("Take that, Tristan! Ha!").

"Man, that was good," said Joey as they walked out of the restaurant, "I don't think I've ever been that full before!"

"Sure you have, Joey – back in that pyramid remember? The fourth challenge!"

"Okay, so where are we all going now?" asked Tea.

"You ready for sightseeing around the town?" asked Joey, "Plenty to see!"

"I'm ready," Hermione smiled, "Whenever you feel like going."

"Wait a sec, Hermione," Mokuba ran over and pressed something into her hand, "I almost forgot! Seto had this made for you. It's a credit card tied into one of Seto's bank accounts."

"Thank you, Mokuba," she said, "But I don't know if I'd feel comfortable spending his money."

"Yea, he thought so too, but he wanted me to remind you that with the money Kaiba Corp rakes in each year, along with Duel-Disk sales and royalties and appearances he does and whatnot, there should be enough there for at least two more generations – and Seto's _only_ seventeen."

"Well…okay…"

"Let's get a move on!" said Tristan, "So much to do!" He turned to Mokuba, "I'll call you when we're done."

"Sure thing, Tristan," Mokuba said, and then he turned to Yugi, "C'mon. Spill the beans."

"When we get to the Game Shop, Mokuba, I'll tell you what I know," said Yugi.

"We're still confused," said Marik. Ryou nodded.

Yugi led them down the street, "You're invited to come too you know. Otherwise I'm sure you'd hear it from Mokuba or Joey or someone…"

Joey watched them turn the corner and then looked back at his companions, "Okay then. Where do you wanna go to first?"

"Don't ask me," Hermione giggled, "You're supposed to be showing me, remember?"

"Very true," said Joey, grinning his goofy grin, and then he looped an arm around Hermione's, "To exploration!"

"To sightseeing!" said Tristan, looping his arm around her other one. They led her down the sidewalk.

"You two, this is like something out of the Wizard of Oz, the only difference is we're not singing and skipping!" Hermione laughed, freeing her arms, "At least leave some room for other people to walk by!"

"Gotta take the fun out of things, don't you?" Tristan sighed, "Fine, be that way…. Now over there is the new tourist shop that opened not too long ago."

"I didn't think Domino City had a tourist shop," said Hermione, "What draws people here?"

"Duel Monsters," said Joey, "And Yugi, of course. Ever since Yugi beat Kaiba in that first duel, people got real excited about the game again. At first, when no one was ever able to beat Kaiba, some duelists just gave up, but Yugi did the impossible and now there's a new duelist goal: to beat Yugi."

"And of course, the Battle City tournament drew _enormous_ crowds," said Tristan, "The streets were packed with so many spectators there were officers patrolling the traffic."

"Must've been some event," said Hermione.

"It was," Joey nodded, "It was also where we met Marik and Ishizu, and had all that trouble with the Rare Hunters."

"I've heard about those," said Hermione, "One of my younger cousins is into all sorts of card games and he was pretty into the Battle City Tournament."

"Yea, we kicked those Rare Hunters' into next year with those duels. I can't believe they actually thought they could defeat the Godfather of Games!"

"Marik did."

Joey glared at him, "That's because I was knocked unconscious!"

"You still lost."

"It was an unfair fight. I would have won, Tristan!"

"Yea, but you didn't!"

"Shut up, Tristan!"

Hermione sighed, "Shall we continue?"

"Good idea!" Joey removed the headlock he had Tristan under and continued down the street, "Let's go…" he paused at the next intersection, looked both ways, and then turned to the right, "…this way!"

* * *

"…and that's all we know," said Yugi, sitting in his living room with Mokuba, Marik, Ryou, Bakura, Yami, and Tea.

"That's it?" Mokuba asked, "That's all you know?"

"That's all," Yugi sighed, "We weren't with him and Hermione the entire time. During the sixth challenge we were separated from them for the majority of it.

"So you're telling us that your plane crashed on this remote island that _happened_ to have a pyramid that _happened _to have a Shadow Game," said Bakura, leaning against the wall, "And you just _happened_ to meet up with Gozaburo Kaiba there."

"Yes, but only in the sixth challenge did we meet up with them," said Tea.

"And Seto was injured only in that challenge?" asked Mokuba.

"He was injured slightly in the first challenge when he and I went after the sand witch," said Yami, "it wasn't too terrible; however the armor we were wearing was taking a toll on our bodies. We were resting most of the second challenge, but helped solve it in the end. In the third, Joey was brainwashed and turned against us. None of us were really hurt then."

"The farther we got into the game, the more severe things got, and,"said Tea, "in the first challenges injuries weren't really severe at all. I mean, we all got a few scratches here and there. But in the fifth and sixth challenges, things were _a lot_ harder."

"Using the armor took a great deal of strength on both of us," said Yami, "In the fifth challenge, he had to rest for a while from using the glove and sword so much in the previous challenges. It was easier for me and Yugi to switch control when the other was becoming tired, but it wasn't the same for Kaiba."

Mokuba bit his lip, "So if things got more difficult as time went on, then what happened in the 6th challenge must have been terrible, and it was only his arm?"

"Well," Yugi began, "It wasn't just his arm, or at least I think it was more than that."

"Then what happened?" asked Mokuba, crossing his arms, "You _promised_ to tell me everything, so don't leave anything out on purpose!"

"Mokuba you have to remember that Yugi and I weren't there for most of it, so we may be wrong."

"_What happened!?_"

Yugi looked at Tea and Yami, "Well…he was captured by the sorceress Vaasth, and it took us a long time to find him and Hermione. We don't know what happened in that time, but he was injured pretty badly when we found him. The extent of his injuries was in his arm."

"That's all?"

"After the sixth challenge we had to face off against Gozaburo and the Big 5 in order to escape. Kaiba was hurt then too, but not as severely," said Yami.

"And you guys didn't think to tell me about this?" Mokuba cried, "Did you think I wouldn't find out? Is that why Seto said he was hurt from part of the plane in the crash?"

"He didn't want you to worry about him," said Tea, "but if it makes your mind a little more at ease, _none_ of us were injured in the crash. A few scratches here and there, nothing more."

"Oh gee, thanks. I sure feel better now." Mokuba sank down onto the couch, pouting.

"Oh, Mokuba, don't take this too hard on yourself," said Grandpa, coming in with some snacks. He placed them on the table and sat beside Marik, "You know your brother loves you very much, and he doesn't want you to worry about him. If I recall, he's recovering well, so you should be relieved; it could have been worse, you know."

"I know, Gramps, but he's been so tired and moody lately – and I mean more moody than usual!"

"I say if your brother doesn't want you to know what happened to him at this time, you should respect his wishes, Mokuba," said Gramps.

"But he didn't say he didn't; he didn't say he was going to tell me either. He just said he was hurt from the crash and that was it. I don't like being left in the dark all the time," Mokuba frowned.

"Then maybe you should talk to him about it," said Grandpa Muto, "If you're having a problem, the best solution is to confront him and talk about it. Otherwise he won't know that something is bothering you."

"I think you're right, Mr. Muto."

Grandpa nodded and got up from his seat on the couch, "You guys ready to get back?"

"Yea," said Ryou.

Marik nodded, "Ishizu's probably wondering where I am."

"I can take you guys home," said Grandpa, grabbing his keys from off of the table, "I need to run some errands afterwards." He led them around to the back of the house where his little red car was parked.

"Are we all going to fit in there?" asked Ryou, "My apartment's not too far, I can walk if there's not enough room."

"Fiddlesticks," Grandpa chuckled, "It's just you, me, Marik and Mokuba. There should be plenty of room. Now, Marik, where in Domino are you staying?"

* * *

Roland followed Seto back into his office following the board meeting. He watched his employer glance through the papers that were placed on his desk in his absence. "Where's the update on the Duel-Disk prototype?"

Roland shook his head, "If it's not on the desk, then perhaps it isn't finished yet."

Seto sighed and sank into his high-backed swivel chair. "I want it up here no later than twelve-thirty."

"Sir," Roland began, "That's only ten minutes from now."

"Well they better hurry. It should have been here twenty minutes ago. Did Mokuba call while I was with the members?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. He's back home now."

"Alright, that's all. You can go."

He watched Roland leave and then pulled out the Millennium Rod from its hiding place. He then laid it upon his desk, allowing Set to reclaim his body. The spirit came out almost immediately.

"Now will you let me show you what happened?" he asked, "Someone has been trespassing your soul room and it's about time you saw the damage."

Seto glanced at his watch, "How long should it take?"

Set shrugged, "As long as you want it to be."

"Alright, fine. A quick look and then we're out." He watched as the spirit activated the Millennium Rod and then the next thing he knew, he was standing outside his soul room; Set beside him.

"Well," Set gestured to the office door, "After you."

Unsure of what was on the other side; Seto grasped the door handle, and after a moment's pause, slowly opened the door and walked inside. He stopped in the center of the room, "This is my office."

"Well of course it is," said Set, it sure isn't mine. Look around and see if you can find anything out of place."

Seto looked around. The couch and chairs were empty, as was his chair, which was turned towards the desk. The laptop was closed and other than his computer and other wired accessories, there was nothing on the desktop. The door to the right leading to his dueling arena was closed.

"Looks normal to me," Seto said, "Nothing's out of place."

"Things have changed since I've been here," said Set, "Before your laptop was on at a failed login. Your chair was turned away, and the desk had been gone through."

"Maybe when I woke up things went back to their original places."

"There's only one way to find out," said Set. He pointed to the doorway on the other side of the room, "That room contains your memories, filed away. When I was here earlier, it was as if a storm had blown the room apart."

Seto walked over and peered into the room. The memory files were all back in place, but there was still a nasty scorch mark on the wall.

"Everything is where it was!" Set cried, standing at Seto's side, "I don't understand!"

"Are you sure this place was a mess when you came through here?"

"Yes!" Set sighed, "The mark on the wall is still there from when I tried to stop the intruder."

Seto turned slowly to face his other half, "That was _you_?"

Set looked down at his feet, "Eh, yes. I was trying to stop him, but he repelled my magic and it burned the wall. I'm sorry."

"Set, that _hurt_."

"I didn't know he could send my magic back to me!"

Seto shook his head and looked back into the cleaned room, "So what was it this person was looking for?"

"I don't know if he found what he was looking for or not, but he was seeing a confrontation between you as a child and your stepfather when I spotted him. Memories of your capture in that pyramid challenge were also out on the floor."

"Whoever it was will probably come back. If you caught him looking at my childhood, it can't be what he was looking for. There's nothing there but bad memories." Seto walked into the room and looked through cabinets, "These are wrong."

"Wrong?" Set asked, "What's wrong?"

"All of these memories are mixed up, as if someone grabbed a bundle and threw them in here. They're not organized at all." He walked over a cabinet in the corner and opened it, "But these are."

Set frowned, "Perhaps it's a marker. Whoever caused this threw the mess he made in the opened cabinets so he knew what he already searched."

Seto nodded; but all of a sudden pain cursed through him. Set seemed to feel it too, and was at his side instantly, "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know, but this feels a little like before. I think he's coming back."

Set looked around the little room, "Well he's not in here, at least. Maybe you should lie down."

"No. I want to know who keeps coming in here;" said Seto shaking his head, "Whoever it is needs to know they're not welcome here." He turned to head back toward his desk when he froze. Standing in the middle of the room was the shadowed man.

Seto narrowed his eyes, "Who are you?" he demanded, "What do you want?" The throbbing in his head was getting worse….

* * *

"I was successful," said Aknadin, appearing before Gozaburo, "I see that in my absence you were able to make progress."

"Yes, you see? I _can _do this."

"If you say so," said Aknadin indifferently, "I found the memory. I was able to pull it from his mind effortlessly."

"Yes, but did you record it?" Gozaburo pointed to the somewhat transparent camera in Aknadin's hand, "You remembered how to use it, right?"

"Your directions aren't difficult; a child would understand them. Here," he placed the camera on the table. The fragments of the sword began to glow for a moment, and then the camera became solid. Gozaburo took it, and leaning back in his chair began to leaf through the files.

"It's the vodeo, or whatever you call it," said Aknadin.

"It's v_ideo_, and I'm already looking for it," said Gozaburo, "Ah, there it is." He plugged the camera into his laptop, brought it up on the screen and leant back all the way in his chair. Aknadin moved behind him to see the computer screen.

_**Seto pulled himself out of bed and crossed the room. He opened the dark curtains letting light pass through inside for the first time in at least a day and a half. He could hear Mokuba downstairs. Seto opened his closet and pulled out a black bathrobe and slippers. Sighing he left the confinements of his room and went downstairs. He saw Yugi and Mokuba enter the kitchen, and a few moments later Yami stuck his head inside for a moment and then headed off down an adjoining hallway.**_

_**He headed towards the kitchen.**_

"_**Just don't be too loud, Seto's room is right above it. Is he awake yet?"**_

"_**Yes, he is," he said, trudging over and turning on the coffeemaker with his elbow as he rewrapped his hand.**_

"_**Hey, Seto!" Mokuba squeaked, "How're you feeling? I haven't seen you since you came home from the hospital!" He handed Seto a mug, "I brought Yugi and his friends over – they were worried about you."**_

"_**I'm tired. I was tired when I came home. I slept for practically three days and still am dead tired."**_

"_**Is it the stuff the doctor gave you?" asked Mokuba, looking at a pill bottle, "I didn't think pain medication can make you tired."**_

_**Seto stared at the mug in his hands. "The headache doesn't help."**_

"_**Are you feeling better at least since you know – the plane window almost skewering you?" asked Tea.**_

"What plane window?" asked Gozaburo, as he paused the video, "He didn't get skewered by a part of the plane – all of that stuff happened in the sixth challenge!"

"Then he is lying," said Aknadin.

"Probably hiding the truth from that brat brother of his," Gozaburo muttered, clicking 'resume'.

"_**When did you all get here…?"**_

"_**I said they were here, Seto. Don't you remember?"**_

"_**No."**_

_**A cry of frustration turned everyone's heads toward the door. "Sounds like Set lost the game," said Mokuba, "That means I can finally have it back. Who knew a five thousand year old priest would be so into video games?"**_

"_**He gets that from you," said Seto.**_

"_**I lost again," Set wailed entering the kitchen. He flopped down at the table. "Now I've got to start all over – oh. Hello everyone – I see you're finally awake."**_

Gozaburo couldn't see Seto's face, but he was sure his stepson was glaring at the spirit.

"_**Do you ever stop eating?" Tea hissed.**_

_**With his mouth full of food, Joey shook his head. "C'mon, Tea. I'm hungry!**_

"_**Anyone wanna see my new video game?" Mokuba asked, hoping to relieve the tension in the room.**_

_**Joey made an enormous swallow, "I will! I bet I can beat the pants of you, Mokuba!"**_

"_**You can try, Joey, but it won't work!" snickered the younger Kaiba.**_

"_**We'll just see about that," said Joey, following him out of the room. Yami came back inside once Joey left.**_

"_**You guys go on ahead," said Yugi, "We need to talk to Set about something important."**_

_**Set frowned, "What's wrong?"**_

_**Yami sat down across from him at the table, "Have you been noticing anything strange lately? Any weird feelings that something big – and terrible – is about to happen?"**_

_**Set shook his head, "I've been feeling some minor head pains, but I can only guess it's the connection I share with Seto and that I'm feeling part of his pain. What's going on, Pharaoh?"**_

_**Yami glanced at Seto, to Hermione, Yugi and then back to Set, "I think someone has found the Millennium Sword."**_

Gozaburo sat forward in his chair, "Finally something good. Get on with it, Muto!"

_**Seto nearly choked on his coffee, Hermione's face turned chalk white, and Set nearly fell out of his seat.**_

"_**T-t-that's impossible," Hermione choked out, "you destroyed it to save us last term. You said it was gone!"**_

_**Yugi frowned, "Well, it was destroyed, but only in pieces."**_

"_**Are you sure?" Seto asked, "Absolutely positive that someone found it?"**_

"_**I've been almost able to feel the approaching darkness," said Yami, "the last time it was this clear I was dueling Voldemort in the chamber under that trapdoor and this power was radiating off of the sword. I think someone managed to find the pieces of the Sword and is trying to put it back together."**_

"_**Set," Hermione began, "When we were researching ancient kings in Professor Shadi's class we came across Kumigrash who, in legend, transferred a part of himself into the Millennium Sword. Do you know anything about that?"**_

_**Set paused, "I thought we ran to Shadi for the answers for that one."**_

"_**We don't care about what Shadi said," Seto snapped, "What do you remember?"**_

"_**Don't be so snippy, Seto. Shadi said that Aknadin placed part of himself into the sword. I know that the only swords he ever touched were the training weapons he would fight me with. He hated the idea of using real weapons for practice – especially when I was young. He would train me in swordsmanship while I was preparing to become a priest. As long as I've known him, he's never touched a weapon – except the sword I ran him through with. His father was the same way – but if he forged a Millennium Item, then the stories aren't true."**_

"_**Are you sure he didn't have a Millennium Item? Aknadin, I mean?" asked Yugi.**_

"_**I never saw it," said Set, "I'm almost certain if he had it, it would have been used."**_

"_**If the sword was destroyed in that room, that limits whoever can have it now," said Hermione, "Hardly anyone knew about Fluffy to even know there was a trapdoor that leads there. Harry, Ron, and I are probably the only students who know about all of the chambers. Other than that, it would either have to be a teacher – "**_ **(1)**

"– _**Or Voldemort," said Yami, "I think he went back for his sword and is trying to repair it."**_

"_**If he is able to mend that sword, there will be even more danger in the world. Without it, he was dangerous enough!"**_

_**Yami shifted his weight to his other foot, "Well, when Voldemort lost his duel and relinquished his control of the Millennium Sword, it appeared to have some sort of effect on him. As if I had given him a mind crush, he screamed in pain and his body seemed to shatter apart. Once I took hold of the Sword, it also shattered."**_

"_**You just said that. Now someone's trying to put it together again. What's your point, Yami?"**_

"_**Well, instead of just leaving, I…well…took part of the Sword with me," said Yami. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the very tip of the weapon. **_

Gozaburo's eyes widened with glee. Aknadin reached forward to stop the video when Gozaburo stopped him, "What are you doing?"

"What more is there to watch? We know the Pharaoh has the piece we need."

"Might as well finish – there might be something important we can't afford to miss," said Gozaburo.

"_**I wanted to tell the Aurors about it and see what other sorts of protective magic they could do, but they aren't here."**_

"_**Tonks and Professor Lupin went to Diagon Alley to get some seventh year supplies. Professor Moody is at Kaiba Corp with Roland going through some files," said Hermione. **_

"_**Once Voldemort realizes that part of the Millennium Sword is missing, it won't be long before he realizes that we have it. It'll only be a matter of time before he sends someone to retrieve it for him."**_

"_**Then make it so he can't get it," said Seto, "Destroy that piece. If that sword isn't complete than it's worthless."**_

"_**It's not as easy as it sounds, Seto," said Set, "Millennium Items can't be broken just like that. They're protected by the very magic that brought them together, and for an item like the Millennium Sword, which was forged differently than the other seven, it could be even harder to destroy. If we knew everything possible about it, things might be a little easier."**_

"That's all," said Aknadin, "Figures – the Pharaoh _had _to have it."

"Well, now we just need to get it," said Gozaburo.

"You can get it, and your son's company all at once," said Aknadin.

"You want to wait that long to get your sword put together?" asked Gozaburo, "I'm not ready to go after Kaiba Corp just yet."

"My power has been growing since you've been able to put more pieces together," said Aknadin, "Even if not all of them are in place, by the time most of them are, I will be close to full power again. But for now, let things die down. Let them forget about us for a while. It will make an attack plan easier if they are not prepared." With that, he disappeared back into his sword and allowed Gozaburo to continue his puzzle.

* * *

Mokuba was in Seto's office, his feet up on the desk.

"How are things, Mokuba?" asked Noa.

"They're ok," Mokuba shrugged, "Until I figured out Seto is keeping secrets from me. I had to weasel it out of Yugi and his friends."

"Ooh, secrets, huh?" Noa leaned closer to the screen, "What kind?"

"Seto's been keeping a secret from me what really happened after the plane crash – and where his injuries really came from. He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Nope, the last time I spoke to him he didn't go into detail about what happened at all. I think he was too tired to do anything."

From inside the closed office, Mokuba heard the front door slam. "I think Seto's back. Odd though, he had meetings booked all day. I'll talk to you later, Noa, okay?"

"Okie dokie, Mokie," Noa snickered.

Mokuba stuck his tongue out at him and closed the laptop lid. He was halfway to the door when Seto flung it open.

"Seto! I didn't know you'd be back so early," Mokuba cried, "Is everything okay?"

Seto nodded painfully, sitting down in his chair, "Can you excuse us, Mokuba? I need to make a call."

Mokuba looked at his brother carefully. He has never seen his brother so angry before, and was there also a trace of worry in his eyes? "What's wrong, Seto?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, kiddo."

Mokuba bit his lip, wondering if he should confront his brother here and now about what he knew, but decided against it. He nodded and left, closing the door behind him. He went into the living room, flopped onto the couch, pulled out his cell phone and called Roland.

"Roland? What's going on with Seto? I _know_ you know!"

Meanwhile, Set shook his head and sat on the office couch, "You most certainly _not_ alright. Even Mokuba knows that."

Seto sighed, picking up the office phone, "I'm perfectly alright."

"Sure you are," Set muttered. He looked around, picking up a heavy book from the shelf next to him and dropped it unceremoniously onto the floor. The resulting thud made Seto clap a hand to his forehead, wincing. "You see? Admit it, that mysterious stranger is going to make your head implode! Admit it and go get some rest!"

"There's no time," Seto snapped, "Gozaburo knows Yugi has the last piece of the Millennium Sword and we have to warn him before he gets an unexpected visit."

"Yes, well, after that you should – wait. How do you know it was him? For all we know it could have been anyone."

"You don't think it's a little too convenient that Gozaburo comes into Kaiba Corp demanding me the location of that piece, and then not once, but twice after he leaves someone goes ravaging through my memories looking for it? I'll bet it was Gozaburo and now he knows where it is."

"And how do you explain his methods of getting it out of you?" Set shot back, "Whoever it was used powerful dark magic and I doubt a common wizard, no matter how bad, would be able to do. It had the Shadows written all over it, Seto and the last time I checked, Gozaburo Kaiba was no item holder!"

Seto glared daggers at him, and then dialed a number into the phone.

It rang three times before, "Game Shop. How can I help you?"

"Mr. Muto is Yugi there?"

"Yes, hang on a moment." He heard Grandpa Muto place the phone down.

It was picked up again a moment or so afterwards, "Hello?"

"Yugi, do you have plans for anything the rest of the day?"

"No, not really. Why?"

"Something important has happened and it concerns your spirit's new trinket."

"Yami's trinket – _ooh_, that trinket. Well it's pretty busy at the shop; would you be able to come here in about an hour or so?"

"Fine," Seto hung up and sighed, "We're leaving in an hour. In the meantime –"

"– You're going to get some rest," Set frowned, "And if I have to take control of your body to get in bed I'll do it."

Seto shook his head and rose from the desk, "That won't be necessary, Set. I think I can find my own way."

He walked out and was greeted by Roland. "Sir, Mr. Muto is here."

"Oh," Seto blinked, "Okay, send him in here."

"What are you doing back here," asked Set as Seto walked back into the office.

"Yugi's here. I thought the shop was busy."

"His grandfather must have let him leave early."

"It's just me," said Yami, "Yugi is still running the shop with his grandfather. What is it you needed to see me about, Kaiba?"

* * *

That night Yugi was sitting up in bed, "Are you sure that's what he said?"

"Positive," said Yami in spirit form, "I can't believe it either. Gozaburo seems to have everything planned to the very end. And according to Kaiba, there's nothing we can do about it either."

"How can he stay so positive that Gozaburo will reverse it? That's cutting things rather close isn't it?"

"It is, Yugi."

"What about Seto's request?"

"It's not a very difficult one. He said he looked up the dates and that he is certain there shouldn't be a problem. Yugi, he wants you to go with them."

"What!? You'll need me here, won't you?"

"The last thing either of us wants is for you to get hurt. I'll be fine."

"But Pharaoh, what about the Puzzle? If something happens to it, you'll need a body, and I won't be there to help you."

"Everything will be fine, Yugi. I –" a strange and loud pop was heard outside the window. Yugi jumped out of bed and ran to the window in the hall….

The Portkey had dropped Harry, Ron, and the Minister outside the Game Shop. Harry and Ron (who had fallen in the landing) got up and looked around.

"Oh my, this complicates things a bit," said the Minister.

"I'd say so," said Harry looking around down the darkened streets, "It's the middle of the night!"

Scrimgeour tapped his watch, "Blasted thing had to stop working in the afternoon!"

"Where are we exactly?" asked Ron, "Have you been here before, Harry?"

Harry looked around, "I think we're at the Game Shop where Yugi lives." His eyes trailed upward and saw Yugi in one of the windows. "There's Yugi!"

Yugi threw on a pair of shoes, slipped on the Puzzle and ran outside, "What are you guys doing out here at this time of night!?"

"Good evening, Mr. Muto, I'm Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic."

"Uh, hello. Do you guys know it's almost midnight?"

"Yea, sorry about that," Ron grinned and pointed to the minister's watch, "He can't tell time today."

"Urgent business, Yugi. However under the circumstances, I would like to wait until morning, but this very important and time crucial. Do you think there's a place everyone could meet up and discuss things?"

""Everyone"?" Yugi asked, "Who else?"

"Besides you three, there's Miss Granger and Misters Bakura, Ishtar and Kaiba."

"Well I don't know about a public place since everything is closed up for the night, and the park's not really a safe place at night either, so it'd have to be one of our houses. I guess the meeting place would depend on who we gather up last."

"Well who lives the farthest from here?"

"Seto doesn't live in the city, or even in the suburban areas. He's kind of on the outskirts of the northern side. We're kind of to the east. If everyone else doesn't mind, we can meet here."

"Yugi, what's going on?" asked a sleepy Grandpa.

"Gramps, the Minister needs to see me and my friends on really important business. Do you mind if we all gather in the living room?"

Gramps blinked, "Uh, well…if you're not too noisy, because I'm going back to sleep. If you're quiet you can stay."

"Awesome," said Yugi, "You guys can come in and hang out in the living room. I'm gonna go call the others." **/Yami I'm going to call Seto and Marik. Can you use the Shadow Realm to head over to Ryou's?/**

/Certainly, Yugi./

* * *

That night Mokuba lay awake in bed contemplating whether or not to talk to Seto. He hugged his Blue Eyes White Dragon doll close. _Seto's never been this secretive with me before. He came home so early and so angry! And what did he need Yugi for so quickly? Something's going on and I want to know what! _Throwing off the blankets, he left his room, past Hermione's room and stopped at the end of the hall. The light was on in Seto's room, so he knocked and entered.

"What's wrong, kiddo?"

"I'm worried about you, Seto," said Mokuba. He walked around and climbed up onto the vacant side of the bed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, typing on his laptop.

"Are you sick?"

"Of course not."

"Seriously injured – other than that hand thing?"

"Recovered."

Mokuba frowned; he could only think of one other thing that Seto would keep from him. But it would be preposterous! But he had to throw it out there…. "Dying?"

The typing stopped. Seto sighed and placed the computer on the nightstand.

"What's bothering you, Mokuba?"

"I know you're keeping secrets from me, Seto. I don't like secrets that I don't know about!"

Seto gave a tiny smirky smile, "Then it wouldn't be a secret anymore, now would it?"

Mokuba clung to the sleeve of his brothers, pajamas, hugging his arm tightly, "Seto, Yugi told me everything," he said quietly. He felt his brother immediately tense up, partly due to Mokuba startling news and partly because of the twinge of pain that surged through the healing wound where Mokuba happened to cling to (he had ditched the annoying sling when he had arrived home).

"When did this occur? When Yami was here?"

"No, when I was out with Yugi earlier today."

"He wasn't supposed to tell you what happened," Seto muttered, "I didn't want you to worry about me." He heard the phone ring downstairs (he had unplugged his so the ringing wouldn't worsen his headache) and Roland pick it up.

"It's not Yugi's fault, Joey let it slip at lunch. I weaseled it out of them. But please, Seto, what happened to you?"

Seto sighed, "Leave it to Wheeler... you really want to know?"

"Uh huh."

Seto opened his mouth to speak when there was a sudden knock on the door. He sighed, "Yes?"

Roland came inside, "Yugi Muto is on the phone."

"Midnight and he wants to talk? Hang on a second, Mokuba." Seto reached down, plugged his phone back in and picked it up, "Do you even know what time it is? …They are? …What the heck does he want? ..._Now!?_ It can't wait? … Why didn't he come tomorrow…why wear a watch that's broken? …I'll go wake her …alright…." Seto put the phone back in its charger and collapsed back into his pillows.

"What did Yugi want, Seto?"

"Apparently the Minister of Magic just arrived at Yugi's place needing to see me, Hermione, Marik and Ryou. The guy travels with a broken watch and had no idea how late it was here. Idiot." He pulled himself out of bed and went into his closet.

"When will you be back?" asked Mokuba, "We still have to talk!"

"I don't know, kiddo, but it's getting late for you, isn't it?"

"It's Friday night!"

"I want you asleep by the time we get back. We'll talk in the morning, I promise."

"You're not going into the office tomorrow?"

"Technically I wasn't supposed to go back until Monday," he said, pulling out a navy button-down shirt and a pair of black pants, "Why don't you head off to bed?"

"But I'm not sleepy," Mokuba yawned. He pouted, "Okay I guess I am."

Seto smirked, "I'll see you tomorrow, ok kiddo?" He ruffled his brother's hair.

"Okay," said Mokuba. He jumped off of the bed and left.

Seto quickly dressed, headed down the hall and knocked on Hermione's door. When there was no reply, he entered and sat on the edge of her bed. He shook her shoulder, "Wake up Sleeping Beauty." He received a pillow in the face for his effort.

"Don't you know what time it is?" she moaned, turning towards him, "Why are you waking me up now?"

"We need to head over to Yugi's," he said, "Apparently the Minister of Magic seeks an audience with us, Marik and Bakura."

"_Now_? Can't it wait until morning?"

"If it could, do you think I'd wake you up now?" He dodged another round of the attacking pillow.

"Ugh, fine," she rolled over, "Give me five minutes and I'll meet you downstairs…."

When ready, Set activated the Millennium Rod, creating an opening in the Shadow Realm, "Ready? This should take us right to the Pharaoh's house."

"Do we just walk in there?" asked Hermione, "How exactly do you travel by the Shadow Realm?"

"I've created an opening on the other side. All you have to do is walk through," said Set, "However, since you don't have a connection to the Millennium Items, the Shadows will try to feed off of you. The quicker you get through, the less painful it'll be. Don't worry, it's nothing serious, perhaps some lightheadedness."

Hermione looked nervously at the Shadow opening, "Can't we get there some other, more normal way?"

"This is the fastest," said Seto, "Besides, sooner we get there; the sooner you can come back here and go back to bed."

The journey occurred without incident. Marik was already flopped on the couch when they arrived.

Before Harry and Ron knew what was happening, they were squashed in a bone-breaking hug.

"Can't breathe, Hermione!" Ron gasped.

"Hermione pulled away beaming, "I've missed you two _so_ much!" She turned to Seto, "Why didn't you tell me Harry and Ron was here?"

Seto shrugged, leaning against the wall, "Surprise."

Bakura arrived a few minutes later, the only one who didn't travel by Shadow Realm.

As they all gathered in the Muto living room, the Minister reached into his cloak and pulled out a scroll and a black bag. "Like I said to Mr. Muto and Ishtar beforehand, I apologize for calling you all so quickly so late. I'm sure some of you had already gone to bed."

"Why _did_ you call us out here?" asked Marik, "It sure isn't for social fun."

"No, you're quite right, Mr. Ishtar," said the Minister, "This isn't a social call." He looked around at all of them, "After his death, we had gone through his will and we found he had a lot to say. Many of his things were given away or donated to the school. However, in a section all its own, very specific things were given to you seven. So this brings me to why I've come. I'm here to disclose the contents of Albus Dumbledore's will."

* * *

**(1)** Because of the screw-up with the Chamber of Secrets being mistaken for the chamber under Fluffy's trapdoor, the memory was changed with the correction.


	25. Chapter 25

Happy Holidays! –Avoids flying blunt objects-

I know I've been away and working on other stories for a bit…but now the time has come to return to this fandom, because I've been avoiding it for far too long. I hope you'll forgive me for my 2 yr lack of updating.

Enjoy!

**/Blah/** is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

* * *

Chapter 25

The room was very quiet as everyone just stared at the Minister of Magic. Set, Yami, and Yami Bakura stayed in their items, but were also paying close attention.

After a good minute's silence, "Dumbledore left _us_ stuff?"

Everyone turned to look at Marik.

"Well, come on guys, you know you're asking yourselves the same question. _We've_ only been at Hogwarts for one year. We hardly knew the man."

Scrimgeour looked at him carefully before speaking, "Professor Dumbledore must have thought very highly of all of you…my guess is that he was impressed by you all during the past year t Hogwarts…and judging by your reactions you were not aware he had left you anything." He gazed around the room at all of them, eyeing Harry last before returning to his scroll and bag.

He cleared his throat to read from the scroll when another voice broke in, "Wait, why are we hearing about this now?"

Now everyone turned to Harry.

"Dumbledore died weeks ago. I mean, we all left Hogwarts right after his funeral. Shouldn't we have known about his will well before now?"

"You've been in his office, Harry. Dumbledore had a lot of stuff. Probably took this long to divvy it all out," said Ron.

"It's because of the laws, isn't it?" asked Hermione, looking right at the Scrimgeour, "The Decree for Justifiable Confiscation states that the Ministry can confiscate items under suspicion of dark activities for up to 31 days before it has to be released. You were inspecting what Professor Dumbledore left us."

Scrimgeour seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "…Yes, in that assumption the law is correct. I'm sure you also realize that we are also in the middle of a war, and that takes a much higher priority than revealing the contents of a man's will." He turned back to his scroll, "As I said before, Dumbledore left very specific instructions that very _specific_ items were not to be donated, but given to you all."

"You had no right to confiscate the items," said Hermione, ignoring Scrimgeour's change of subject, "It wasn't because of the war that you were taking so long to read his will, those are two completely different divisions of the Ministry. The law was in place to stop witches and wizards from passing along dangerous artifacts, and you need to have plenty of evidence before the items are seized. Are you trying to tell us that you thought Dumbledore was trying to give us something cursed?"

Scrimgeour eyed her carefully, "Are you planning a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?"

Hermione glared back, "_No_. _I'm not_."

"Then I would suggest you let the Ministry handle its matters." Scrimgeour finally returned to his scroll, "His entire library was donated to Hogwarts. However…'_To Miss Hermione Granger,'" he read, "'I leave my copy of __The Tales of Beetle the Bard__ in hopes that she will find it entertaining, and instructive_.'" He reached into his bag and handed her a rather worn book.

Hermione turned it over in her hand. It was fairly large and seemed to be several years old.

"Do you know why he would have left that specific item to you?" asked the Minister.

Hermione looked up, and felt two sets of eyes boring into her. One she could tell was coming from Harry; the other felt like it was coming from behind, where she knew Seto was leaning against the wall. "He knew I liked books," she said finally, "He knew I liked to read."

"But why _that_ book?"

"How would we know?" asked Harry, getting annoyed, "It's obvious none of us were expecting this visit, and we certainly didn't expect to have mentions in Dumbledore's will. Hermione likes books, and obviously Dumbledore thought she would enjoy it."

Scrimgeour looked at him for a moment, then seemed to accept the answer and went back to his scroll, "'_To Mr. Seto Kaiba, I leave my Pensieve, in hopes that when he is overwhelmed he will put it to good use_.'" He reached into the bag (which now the others realized was charmed to fit large items inside) and removed a large shallow bowl and placed it upon the nearest table.

"Why do you think he left you such an item?"

Seto stared at the Pensieve, "Considering I've never used one, I have no idea."

Scrimgeour looked at him curiously, "It allows you to store memories and revisit them at any time. Why would Dumbledore leave such a foreign object to you?"

Seto crossed his arms over his chest and didn't say anything. Sighing, Scrimgeour moved on, "'_To Mr. Ryou Bakura, I leave this key; in hopes he will never have to find another way_.'" He reached in his bag and handed him a rather worn key.

Ryou took it and looked it over. He had never seen it before.

"What do you suppose he meant by that statement?"

/Obviously the old man had me in mind…/

**/I've never seen this key in my life…but whatever it's locking up, he doesn't want you to steal it!/**

"I don't know," said Ryou, "Maybe this is a master key for something…" he thought for a minute before adding, "I tend to lose things a lot."

Yugi looked at him curiously. **/That last part was a lie, Ryou is pretty organized…/**

/I know, Yugi…this is all very strange. Obviously, Dumbledore left us things cryptically enough that the Ministry wouldn't understand. But why?/

Scrimgeour looked then upon Ron, "'_To Mr. Ronald Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in hope that he will remember me when he uses it_'. That is quite a valuable object, Mr. Weasley, possibly one-of-a-kind. Why would he leave it to you out of all of his students? To what use does he expect you to get out of it?"

Ron took the Deluminator, "To put out lights, I guess. What else am I supposed to do with it?"

Scrimgeour's eyes lingered on him a moment more before moving on. "'_To Mr. Marik Ishtar, I leave my on-the-go Potions Kit, as this was your favorite subject while at Hogwarts_'. I'm sure there were many students that favored Potions, Mr. Ishtar. Why would he choose you?"

All eyes were looking at Marik. "I don't know…," he said, feeling slightly uncomfortable under everyone's scrutiny. "I didn't know he knew I liked the subject." _I didn't know_ I _liked the subject..._

"Dumbledore was always kind of sneaky like that," said Harry, "He always knew when I was at Ron's house for the summer to have my Hogwarts letters sent there."

The Minister turned his gaze, "'_To Mr. Yugi Muto, I leave the contents of this chest_,…'" he reached into the bag, pulled out a medium sized box and placed it next to the potions set on the table before returning to his scroll, "'…_which was given to me by a mutual acquaintance, in the hope that he finds the contents challenging in the great puzzle of life_.' What do you suppose he meant by that statement?"

Seto stared at the chest from his spot against the wall, and cut Yugi off before he could say anything. "I suppose in your inspection of such a _dark_ object, the contents themselves didn't clue you in."

Scrimgeour turned to Seto, and was faced with a stony glare. "The objects are puzzling. No one in the department had seen them before." He opened the chest and turned it towards Yugi. "I suppose since Dumbledore left it to you, Mr. Muto, you must know what it is."

Scrimgeour watched the teen's face as he looked down at the items in the chest, looking for some kind of reaction.

**/Looks like parts of something…/**

/Yes, Yugi – remember what Dumbledore wrote – they're puzzle pieces!/

**/Oh!/**

"I can't tell what it is," said Yugi, looking at the items in the chest curiously, "I've never seen this box before...but whatever is in here looks broken."

"Why would Dumbledore leave this to you?"

"I…I really I don't know."

The Minister looked back on his scroll, "Last but not least, '_To Mr. Harry Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill_'. Why would he leave you a snitch?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "It obviously can't be because Harry enjoys Quidditch and happens to be a great seeker."

"I am aware of Mr. Potter's Quidditch record from Hogwarts, Miss Granger. My question is why that particular snitch?"

"Maybe for sentimental value," said Harry, "I mean, it was my first Quidditch match, and there were a lot of great memories from that day."

"Snitches also have flesh memories," said Hermione, "they remember the touch of the first person to handle them in case of dispute during matches."

Scrimgeour handed the snitch to Harry. Everyone leaned forward in their seats, staring at the little golden ball in his hand, expecting something to happen. Minutes passed.

"Is is supposed to do something?" Ryou asked curiously.

Scrimgeour seemed rather put-out from the snitch's lack of movement. "…I suppose not."

He took another look at the scroll before rolling it back up and placing it in the bag. "Dumbledore's final request was also to you, Potter. In his will he left you the Sword of Godric Gryffindor."

"Makes sense," said Ron, "The sword appeared to him before…."

Scrimgeour was watching Harry closely. "According to reliable historical sources, the sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor. Whatever Dumbledore may have decided, that does not make it the property of Mr. Potter. Why do –"

"Dumbledore must've thought it would look nice on my wall," said Harry darkly.

"Unfortunately, Potter, I cannot hand such an item over to you. As well-intentioned as Dumbledore may have been, it was not his property to give away. Godric Gryffindor's Sword is property of the school, and that is where it must remain." He paused for a moment, "Perhaps Dumbledore left you that sword because he believed it would be capable of defeating You-Know-Who. There are, as you I'm sure are aware, debates on whether or not you are The Chosen One."

Harry shrugged, annoyed, "Interesting theory."

"It is quite peculiar to the Ministry that Dumbledore left such specific instructions to you seven, especially after knowing only half of you for not even a year's time. Obviously he must believe you all will be able to do some good to the Wizarding World during these dark times. We should be working together in this war."

Harry looked around at his friends, slightly puzzled.

"It would give the people a sense of comfort to work alongside each other," said Scrimgeour, "Perhaps for you to pop in to the Ministry from time to time, as a morale booster. And that is for all of you, not only Mr. Potter. I heard of your feats while at Hogwarts this past year." He was now looking at Yugi and the others.

"You mean…you want us to kind of like be a mascot?" Yugi asked.

"I wouldn't think of it that way, but in a sense, yes."

"That would imply that we agree with what the Ministry is up to," said Marik.

"And that becomes problematic," said Harry, "I – all of us – have seen the Prophets. I don't really care for the Ministry's methods. I haven't forgotten…" he held up his hand, revealing the faded scars of '_I will not tell lies_', "…what the Ministry did at Hogwarts last year and the year before."

"Some would say it is your duty to side with the Ministry." Scrimgeour was glaring at Harry now.

Harry glared right back, "Others could say it's _your _duty to check who's really a Death Eater before you toss 'em into prison. I saw the Prophets and who was getting arrested – innocent people for the sake of progress! You're doing exactly what Barty Crouch did. What is it with you people and not figuring things out right? On one hand we had Fudge, who pretended everything was rosy and wonderful while people are killed under his nose, or there's you – throwing the wrong people into prison to give the public a false sense of security and wanting to think that I'll work for you. _Not going to happen_."

Scrimgeour stood up angrily; so did Harry, as well as Yugi and Ron, who sat on either side of him.

"You say that maybe Dumbledore left me the sword because it might defeat Voldemort? There's a theory – has anyone ever tried running a sword through Voldemort? Maybe you should have your people looking into things like that. Instead you're wasting your time examining chests of rubbish and throwing innocent people in prison. When something serious happens, there's never any report of it –just what goes on to keep morale up. And you really expect us to cooperate with you?"

Scrimgeour pointed at Harry's scar. "You wear that scar like a crown, but you're not at school now, are you, Potter? Remember that I am not Dumbledore, who always turned a blind eye at your knack for breaking the rules. You will _not _tell _me_ how to do my job. It is about time you learned respect."

"Perhaps it's time you and your Ministry did something to _earn_ it," said Seto coldly.

At that point Yugi's grandfather came into the room asking about the shouting match he could hear all the way upstairs. Harry looked at the old man apologetically; he didn't realize how quickly he had raised his voice.

"My apologies, Mr. Muto," said Scrimgeour, taking his eyes off of Seto, "Mr. Potter and I had a bit of a disagreement, but I believe our business here has concluded. Potter, Weasley, if you come with me, I'll bring you back home."

"Wait," said Harry, "Can't we stay here? I mean, we all know each other."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Potter. The Weasleys are expecting you back."

"He's just as safe there as he is here with us," said Marik, "You said you heard of our 'grand adventure' at Hogwarts last year, so you must be aware that we can take care of ourselves. Harry will be fine here in Japan."

"If Harry can stay, I want to too," said Ron quickly.

"That's not up to me to decide," said the Minister, "Come on."

"I'll go with you," said Yugi, "When we go back to Ron's house, he can ask his parents if he and Harry can come back, and I'll take them. That way you don't need to burden yourself with another trip, Minister. I know you're a busy man, but it's the least you could do after waking us all up in the middle of the night." He gave Scrimgeour an innocent and forced smile.

Scrimgeour sighed tiredly, "But…I…eh…well, I suppose. Let's go then."

He led the three boys outside. It wasn't until they heard them leave that Seto detached himself from the wall.

"That guy is really inquisitive," said Marik, "why does he care why Dumbledore left us this stuff?"

"He must have been suspicious of Dumbledore last year, and since we were the only individuals outlined in his will that made him even more wary," said Ryou. He looked down at the key in his hands, "I wonder what this goes to…."

"I wonder where Dumbledore got the idea that I liked _Potions_! I hated that class!"

"Dumbledore gave us these items for a very specific reason," said Seto.

Set phased out of the Rod, "What are these things, anyway?"

Seto looked in the chest, "Whatever those are, and they're shaped like puzzle pieces."

"Whoever that mutual acquaintance is must have had a love for games…and then Dumbledore took it apart to hide whatever it was," said Marik.

"Will Yugi be able to put it back together?" asked Hermione.

Marik sniggered, "You're talking about the King of Games. Sure it may take him years like it took for him to complete the Millennium Puzzle, but he'll figure it out."

Ryou looked towards the window, "Do you think Harry and Ron will return tonight?"

Marik laughed, "As if anyone is going to look at Yugi and refuse after he puts on his innocent face."

Ryou took off the Millennium Ring and gave Bakura his own body, "Dumbledore went through a lot of trouble to hide his intentions…I hope we can figure out what he wanted us to do with these things."

Harry and Ron stumbled back into the Muto living room a short while later with a few packed bags.

"I am _never_ traveling that way ever again!" Ron gasped. "How do you even manage?"

Yami walked in casually, "Our Millennium Items seem to protect us from those affects. For us, it's the quickest way to travel." He relinquished control back to Yugi, who took off the Puzzle to free the spirit.

"How long did Mrs. Weasley let you guys stay?" asked Marik.

"Mum _said_ until school starts again…but I didn't tell her yet that Harry and I weren't planning on going back. It's just not safe anymore with Dumbledore gone."

"Looks like we have a lot to figure out with this," said Yugi, "But I don't know if we can do it here and now. For us, it's really late, and I don't think Grandpa would like it if we stayed up all night…at least he wouldn't like it if _I _stayed up all night. We already woke him up once…"

"Is there some place we can meet tomorrow to try and work through this?" asked Harry.

"It would have to be someplace big enough to spread everything out where we won't be disturbed," said Marik, throwing innocent glances in Seto's direction.

"My apartment isn't big enough for everyone," said Ryou, "Otherwise I'd offer my place."

"Ishizu probably wouldn't mind…but there's no good spot to keep this stuff. Otherwise we'd have to bring everything in and out every time we meet up."

"My place is obviously too small," said Yugi, looking around his cramped living room.

Everyone turned to look at Seto.

"No."

"No?" Marik asked, "Why not? Would having us all at your place deflate your ego?"

Seto glared at him, "_No_." He sighed, "I can't guarantee the security of my home or my company after several recent events. I would strongly prefer to decrypt Dumbledore's hidden messages elsewhere."

Marik raised an eyebrow, "You probably have the best security system out of _all _of us, and I'm talking without magic. What the heck happened?"

Seto sat on the edge of the couch, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose; he could feel the beginnings of a headache forming. He could tell it was going to be a long night…

* * *

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Yugi asked, climbing into bed and placing the Puzzle on his nightstand. Even after the Minister left and Harry and Ron returned, they spent the next several hours deciding what to do with Dumbledore's possessions.

Yami phased out of the Puzzle. "You mean ganging up on Kaiba?"

"Yea…" Yugi sighed, "I know we had only the best intentions…but I could tell he was really not for it."

"I know, Yugi. But Kaiba is the only one among us with the resources to get us a private room somewhere. We're lucky he said he could get us a secluded spot in his company."

Yugi folded his arms over his chest, "Against _two hours_ of protest, Pharaoh! You could tell he wasn't comfortable revealing what was going on these past weeks, and there were valid concerns!"

Yami frowned, "I know it wasn't ideal…but what else can we do?"

"We won't be able to stay forever…if what is going on continues. It's bad enough that Seto can't keep that intruder out of his head. I know it's not his fault, but it's a huge risk to keep everybody in that place when security is compromised. You remember how easy Gozaburo managed to walk into Kaiba Corp even with the defensive wards that were placed there."

"I know, Yugi. But for now, it's the only option we have. We can always find someplace else when we all meet up tomorrow."

Yugi reached for the lamp switch, "It's just…I have a _really_ bad feeling about all of this."

"Me too, Yugi…me too…"

* * *

Roland, carrying an armful of heavy books, nudged open the door to Seto's home office and froze on the spot. "Mr. Kaiba, sir, I didn't realize you were still awake…"

Set looked up, "No, I'm not your employer – I'm the twin that lives in his head."

Roland nodded slowly, "I see…." He continued inside and placed the books on the desk, looking at Set curiously through his dark sunglasses. "How does one tell you two apart?"

Set opened his mouth to speak, paused, and then picked up the Millennium Rod from the desk. "It's not easy…but if you see this in plain sight, it is me, and not my host. He has a knack for hiding it when he wanders publicly. I also do not have an injured hand…"

"…Ah."

Set put down Mokuba's discarded handheld game, "What is all of this?"

"A Mr. Remus Lupin dropped these books off. I suppose Mr. Kaiba sent for them."

"I'll tell him once he wakes…" Set glanced at the clock, "Which should be in about six or so hours."

Roland nodded and turned to leave, but not before failing to conceal a rather large yawn.

"Are you always up this late…or should I say early?"

"One of my jobs, as I'm sure you know by now, is Mr. Kaiba's chief of security. I was alerted to Mr. Lupin's arrival as he triggered one of the silent alarms."

"Do you always respond to something like this? I do not mean to undermine your work, but surely you are not the only security officer on duty around this house..."

"There are. But the safety of everyone on the premises, not just Mr. Kaiba, falls under my responsibilities. I will not shirk my duties because it is late at night."

The ancient priest looked at Roland curiously, "My host seems to place a considerable amount of trust in you."

Roland raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"My host - your employer. He does not seem to trust many people. It took him months to get used to me, and I was stuck in his head. He has so many workers, yet he favors you. I guess I am just curious how you got into his good graces."

"It's a long story."

"I've got all the time in the world."

A minute or so passed. Roland crossed his arms, "Very well...I'm sure you could hear this from Mr. Kaiba anyways...

"I have been Mr. Kaiba's personal bodyguard ever since he was adopted. The elder Kaiba, Mr. Gozaburo had a personal assistant he relied on at the time. I was a guard for the company. Been one for years. When Mr. Kaiba took over the company from Mr. Gozaburo, I was still in the same position I had been hired to do - watch cameras. I refused almost every promotion the old man had given me..."

"You refused the opportunity to boost yourself?" Set tilted his head, confused. "Why?"

"I didn't particularly like the man. I took the job while I was young and needed a stable paycheck. A normal promotion would mean I would have to follow him everywhere to be a human shield. Mr. Gozaburo had quite a number of enemies. In the years I worked the cameras, I had never once met the man. Until he called me into his office one afternoon, maybe six, seven years ago. It was about a month before his son, Noa, had his tragic accident. The old man said he was giving me another promotion. He knew I refused all of the other ones. But this one was different."

Set leaned forward in his seat, "What do you mean?"

"He moved me to security here, at his home. He wanted an extra hand here since he was planning on adopting a second son. Soon after, Mr. Kaiba and Mokuba were adopted and Noa Kaiba had his accident. My job still consisted of watching the cameras. I saw _everything _Mr. Gozaburo had done to his newly-adopted sons. It was not my place to argue with the man's methods of instruction, but I did not agree with them. I was not close enough to Mr. Gozaburo to get him to change. My superiors turned a blind eye. I just sat in the security room in the basement and did my job."

Roland sat in the chair in front of the desk, "There was one day I remember where Mr. Gozaburo was lenient to his new sons. It was about a year or so after the boys were adopted. It was the middle of the winter, and it had snowed. Surprisingly, he let them outside for the afternoon. Usually with Mokuba he wouldn't have cared. He did not have as serious of a tutoring program, and he was still very young. Mr. Kaiba, however, was always working and studying, every day of the week. He was surprised when the old man let them both out for the afternoon.

"They were both outside in the back of the house. I was patrolling the grounds that day. Someone - I don't remember who, an enemy of Mr. Gozaburo, no doubt - had breached their way onto the grounds. I suppose the man was trying to prove some sort of point to Mr. Gozaburo...but nonetheless, it was young Mokuba's first kidnapping...or at least, it was an attempt. The man didn't get very far."

"What happened?"

"The man obviously thought that kidnapping Mokuba would get some kind of reaction from the elder Kaiba. Perhaps if he had tried to make off with young Mr. Kaiba at the time, he might have succeeded somewhat."

"You saved him?"

"I caught him as he was trying to leave the grounds. Mr. Kaiba was too young at the time to do anything himself. I managed to disarm the man, but not before taking a hit for the team." He pointed at his upper right arm, "The idiot's pistol got me here. When I got back from the hospital, did the old Kaiba thank me for saving his young charges? Of course not. The man refused to believe that the snowstorm disrupted one of the security alarms. Almost fired me for not being in the office watching the cameras. Didn't register to him that I saved his heirs to his empire from an untimely death. All he cared about was performance. And by protecting those kids I was not doing my job.

"Did Seto and Mokuba thank you?"

"Of course they did. Mokuba was too shy at the time to come to me and say it, but he drew me a get-well card. I still have it somewhere. Young Mr. Kaiba came down to the security office one night after I returned to work and asked for martial arts training so he could better protect his young brother, if the time came. It didn't matter that he was tired and worn out from Mr. Gozaburo's rigorous schooling. If I was working the night shift, he would come down to the security office. I set up a vacant room with a few mats and trained him as much as I knew how.

"After Mr. Gozaburo gave his son a test of his business strategy, he moved me from security detail to becoming his personal assistant, as his own was too busy to handle both. At least that's what he said. Mr. Leichtor did not seem to like young Mr. Kaiba. In any case, I was at his side for the rest of that year. When he took over the corporation, he eventually fired Mr. Gozaburo's old board members. He kept me as his business adviser and personal assistant, and also slated me his chief of security. I've been at his side since."

"You saved his brother, so he knows he can trust you," Set nodded.

"He trusts me because he knows of my unwavering loyalty to him. I have had plenty of opportunities to leave and move on to other positions. While I worked for Mr. Gozaburo I almost did. But I saw what he did to those boys. Even if only behind the scenes for most of their time in the old man's care, I saw them grow up. I saw them change with time. The Kaiba brothers are the closest to sons I ever had, and I will proudly put my life on the line without hesitation if it protects them from someone like Gozaburo Kaiba."

* * *

Mokuba stared up at the dark ceiling, occasionally stealing glances at the clock on the bedside table. It was past four in the morning and his brother still hadn't returned.

The younger Kaiba sat up in bed suddenly, hearing footsteps on the floor downstairs. Brushing off the bedcovers, he crept to the door and put his ear against it. Two sets of footsteps were heading up the stairs. One quietly slipped into the door across the hall, the other heading straight down the hall to the door at the end.

_I guess Seto's finally back. Ever since he returned from England something's been off with him, and no one will tell me what's really going on. Not anymore…_

He slid back under the warm sheets, trying to calm himself enough to fall asleep, hugging close his plushie. _At least…at least Seto said we would talk tomorrow…today._

It seemed like he had just fallen asleep when after turning over was met with sunbeams burning through his eyelids. Squinting against the light, Mokuba turned away and managed to steal a glance at the clock. The bright red numbers read half past nine.

He sat up and looked towards the door. The house seemed fairly quiet, even for a Saturday. _Maybe everyone is still asleep…_. Mokuba dressed and went downstairs.

Set glanced up from lazily flipping through a magazine, "Good morning, Mokuba."

"Morning," said Mokuba, looking around, "Is no one else here?"

"Your brother's lackey, Roland I think, is around here somewhere. I saw him about twenty or so minutes ago. I haven't seen anyone else yet – we got back from that meeting very late last night."

"How did it go?" Mokuba sat next to the priest, and glanced down at his reading material, "You don't seem the type to be interested in gossip stories. One of the maids must have left this lying around…"

"It was the first thing I could find," Set shrugged, "As for last night…it was interesting. I'm sure your brother will give you all of the details once he wakes."

"He has a lot more than that to tell me about," Mokuba pouted, "He promised to spill everything today. I don't like being kept in the dark about what's been going on."

Set sighed, "I'm sure your brother had valid reasons for what he did."

"It's hard to say how valid or not his reasons are when you're left completely out of the loop in the first place," Mokuba muttered, "I'm not one of his employees who is too low on the totem pole to know the insider dirt – I'm his brother, and he shut me out!"

Set sighed.

"He's left me in the dark since he got back home from England! Whatever happened in that plane crash did something to Seto, and I don't like it."

"A lot of things happened between Seto leaving and returning from England. Some were and some were not for the better. But I would assume that every decision your brother has made in leaving you out of the details was done for your protection. You're only a boy, Mokuba. You shouldn't have to worry about things beyond your age."

Mokuba looked at him warily, "Set, I'm twelve and a corporate vice president. I think I can handle whatever is going on." He stood up and headed back towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" asked Set.

Mokuba shrugged, "Upstairs. I'll be down later."

"If you're going to wake him, don't bother," said Set, giving the younger Kaiba brother a piercing look, "He did not come back last night in a chipper mood. I believe he took some kind of sleeping potion in order to get some rest."

Mokuba paused on the steps, "A sleeping potion?"

"You'll have to ask Hermione what it's called, I can't remember."

He headed down the hall, and lingered outside his brother's bedroom door momentarily before heading inside. It might as well had been raining outside, or even still four in the morning since the room was still very dark. Mokuba squinted in the dark and climbed up on the bed next to his brother.

"What is it Mokuba?" Seto mumbled, half asleep. He turned his head towards his brother.

Mokuba frowned, "Set said you were still asleep."

"What does he know?" Seto muttered, shifting to sit up. He picked up the small bottle next to his alarm clock and peered at the label in the dark, "'Damn potion is defective."

Mokuba switched on the lamp on his end of the bed, "What does it do?"

Seto squinted against the sudden burst of light. "It's supposed to give eight hours of dreamless sleep. I'd be _lucky_ to get five."

Mokuba sighed, "Seto…we need to talk. You promised…"

Seto looked tiredly at his brother, "I know I promised…" he raised his right hand to rub his forehead when he heard his brother gasp and looked at him curiously.

"Seto – your hand is bleeding!" He jumped off of the bed and ran into the adjoining bathroom to grab the first aid kit.

Seto turned on the lamp on his nightstand as well, and looked down at his hand. It must have been trickling for a while, based on the dried blood around the scars. He shifted his sleeve up his arm slightly, trying to keep it out of the way.

Mokuba climbed back up with the kit and began digging through it, "That looks painful, Seto – you didn't feel it overnight?"

Seto shook his head, "It doesn't hurt."

"…Oh…" He cleaned up the blood, "Seto…that's a weird cut. Did that happen in England?" Mokuba looked at it curiously. It was the first time he had ever gotten a good look at the scars on his brother's hand that never seemed to want to heal. "…Seto, are those _words_?"

Seto quickly retracted his hand, grabbing the roll of gauze from the kit and began wrapping it himself.

"Seto…?"

He tossed the extra wrappings back into the box and leaned against the headboard. "Alright, Mokuba, you win."

Mokuba moved to sit next to his brother, mimicking his position against the back of the bed, "You haven't been yourself, Seto…"

"If you referring to me sleeping, rest assured it _is _something all humans have to do at some point in their lives."

"Very funny. I'm glad you're getting sleep…but I know you're not doing it because you want to. Something changed."

"I can assure you, I'm the same brother you've known for your entire life, Mokuba."

"You're not well."

Seto turned, giving his brother a hard look, before turning back, facing forward again. "You get right to the point, don't you?"

Mokuba looked up at his brother. Seto returned the gaze and saw both fear and hurt welled up in the grey orbs.

"Everyone says you're keeping things from me for my protection…so I won't worry about you."

Seto cut him off before he could continue, "Who is 'everyone'?"

"Yugi and the gang…and Set."

"Figures."

"But it _is _true…isn't it? They didn't need to tell me for me to know that something is up with you. I want to know what happened."

Seto let out a much louder sigh than he had wanted. "When?"

"I don't know…I haven't seen you much for the entire year. Whenever this started I guess…whenever you changed."

"I suppose it _couldn't_ be when Yugi ceremoniously dumped the Millennium Rod in my possession last summer, because after all, up to that point, magic and nonsense didn't exist," Seto said irritably.

Mokuba shook his head, "No. I was there for that. I mean after you left for England. By that point you were getting used to Set...kinda." He looked at Seto's hand, "I want to know about _that_…and everything like it…and why Gozaburo was in Kaiba Corp the other day."

Seto's gaze quickly fixated on his brother, "How did you know he was there?"

"Yugi, Hermione and I ran into him in the elevator," Mokuba said worriedly, "He was…well, he said you two had a chat."

Seto scowled, "We did."

"…I thought Gozaburo was gone, lost in that virtual world with Noa…"

"Well, Noa most obviously is _not_ lost. As for Gozaburo…I suppose he was never trapped in the computer to begin with."

Mokuba snuggled closer to his brother, frightened by the thought of their step-father loose in the city, "What did you talk about?"

Seto flexed his hand; small bits of red were beginning to seep through the wrappings, "He offered the cure, in exchange for information against us."

Mokuba stared at his hand, "Why do you need a cure for a cut?"

"…It's a curse, Mokuba. I spoke out against a professor at Hogwarts – who was really working for Death Eaters – and she gave me detention."

"Seto, you've never had detention in your entire life…what did she make you do?"

"Write lines."

"That doesn't sound very dangerous."

"She had me use a special pen of hers, which turned out to belong to Gozaburo. When you write with it, instead of ink, it uses your blood."

Mokuba looked revolted, "So _that's_ where…but Seto…that's a really messy cut. And you've been out of school for over a month now! Why won't it heal?"

"It's cursed, Mokuba, I haven't touched the pen in months, but it's done its job. It's never going to heal unless I'm given the cure."

"So you're just going to deal with it?"

"I don't have a choice. Either I bow to Gozaburo's demand or…." He sighed and looked away.

Mokuba stiffened, recalling how tense his brother became when he tried to bring this conversation up last night. "Seto…" He clutched his brother's arm tightly.

Seto visibly tensed, "Mokuba…" he began, "I said last night we would talk, and I won't go back on that promise…."

Mokuba looked up, meeting his eyes as he continued, "…But what you want to know is something you do _not_ want to hear, I guarantee it. I won't lie to you. But the truth will hurt."

"I don't care how much it hurts," said Mokuba, "I need to know, and I don't want to hear it from Hermione, or Yugi, or even Set. I want to hear the truth from you."

"The truth," Seto repeated, "Alright….we'll start with the most obvious. Gozaburo isn't dead, nor is he stuck in a computer like Noa. He's living, breathing, and up to no good. And just to make things even more complicated, he's also a wizard, and in cohorts with some lunatic in England who are trying to take over the world."

"Seto, why is it _always_ world domination?"

"To be perfectly honest I have no idea, but it's getting old rather quickly. And conveniently enough, everything revolves back to Gozaburo."

Mokuba scowled, "_Everything_? All of this bad stuff is his fault?"

"You could say that. He, even if indirectly, caused our plane to go down and stranded us in the middle of nowhere where there was a giant pyramid, believe it or not. Gozaburo had a minion there to trick us into entering some sadistic Shadow Game-like challenge for survival."

"That's how you hurt your arm, right?"

Seto paused for a moment. "…Yes. In the end Gozaburo and the Big 5 – yes, they're back too –" he saw Mokuba pale at their mention, "they had to go in and get us out, and then immediately after tried to knock us off. Long story short, it didn't work. We escaped and made it home. The end."

Mokuba narrowed his eyes up at his brother, "What _aren't_ you telling me?" He felt Seto stiffen again. "Seto?"

"What happened on the way home doesn't matter anymore, Mokuba. We all made it back in one piece. The fact that I needed more sleep lately is indirectly related to the plane crash. I have headaches because _someone _thinks it's funny to take a stroll through my mind..." Seto trailed off, looking away.

"…And?" Mokuba bit his lip.

"…I think you know the rest, Mokuba."

Mokuba's grip tightened around his brother as he buried his face into Seto's side.

* * *

I always found Roland an interesting character, especially during the Dartz saga (which, yes, I know. It isn't canon.). Why would he stick to Seto's side if it was no longer his job? I could be going into it too deeply, but I always thought there was more to his character than just being the "Croquet" for Kaiba Corp. I hope you enjoyed the little backstory I gave him.

Until next time! (Hopefully not 2 years from now...)


End file.
